


Tropical Re-encounters

by An Observing Litten (HarukaWritesThings)



Series: Litten's Narrative [6]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Angst (a little!), Boys In Love, Comfort, FirstFriendShipping, Fluff, Humor, Love, M/M, Musical References, Platonic Love, Pokémon Sword & Shield videogame references, Pokémon spin-off game references, Pure Love, References to canon happenings of the Alolan arc of the show, Romance, SatoGou, Soft Boys, Talking Pokémon (Thank Litten for this), journeyshipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 32,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29899371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarukaWritesThings/pseuds/An%20Observing%20Litten
Summary: We're back and victorious from Galar region's Gym Challenge! But Hope's grandparents got so excited about our achievement that they bought her an airplane ticket to the Alola region before she could say "Tropius"! We weren't returning to Kanto just yet! Coincidence or fate, we found our friends Ash and Goh on research duty on our birthland and we were excited to keep our talks up to date and to show Ula'ula Island around!
Relationships: Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: Litten's Narrative [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745155
Kudos: 6





	Tropical Re-encounters

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! It has been since forever, I'm perfectly aware of this! The sixth text was originally planned to be released by the end of 2020 but some unpredicted and priority things happened on my side, I had a small difficulty to begin the story's introduction and I had to reread my original five chapters to take notes and refresh my memory at some things. I took the opportunity to do plenty of grammar and verbal fixes as well doing minor to medium alterations that don't affect the flow of the stories, but help tremendously to improve the overall reading experience. I haven't an illustrated header for now but I want to implement one once I have the chance to draw it!
> 
> However, when I begun to develop this text in January, nothing made me imagine that this would be a story to surpass the 40000 words (!!!). I'm still finishing the story by the time I'm posting this! But for now I believe there's enough content to show chapter 6's first part, after a delay that's going for over 2 months! 
> 
> I repeat this the necessary times: I thank everyone for the positive feedback given so far to all of my SatoGou texts written up to this date! If you didn't read these stories, especially from the Litten Narrative series, I highly recommend it to do so before reading this text for an overall enjoyment of the story as they all have continuity!
> 
> A few quick notes:
> 
> \- I like to think that this story is a prolongation of the episode 37 of Pokémon Journeys/Pocket Monsters (2019)! Right after the scene where Rotom Dex is describing the biology of Alolan Exeggutor and before the protagonists are back to the Cerise Park.  
> \- I'm not an English native speaker so I ask apologies in advance in case the writing is a little weird sometimes.  
> \- Canon characters' voices = Japanese  
> \- It's very likely the Hawaiian sentences have inconsistencies and/or snags because I had to use an automatic translator. It will probably lead to weird meanings when trying to translate from Hawaiian to English. My apologies in advance to native readers if the phrases sound odd!  
> \- There's a one minute and fourteen seconds instrumental music I wanted to implement in the ukulele play that Hope makes in very end of this text to show it was an intentional reference to an official music that Yuki Hayashi has composed for the show but I sadly couldn't find links for it. It can be translated as "Lonely Night" and it's the 53th track of the OST album. One episode and moment where viewers can hear it is at episode 21 (in the Japanese version of course) when Ash meets up with Riolu's egg for the first time (Timetag interval: 10:03-11:02).  
> \- Considering I'm still developing the second part of this story, it's likely that minor/medium edits might be silently done if I see any justified need to improve the overall quality of the text.
> 
> I want to thank everyone's patience for the long wait! Please enjoy this new text!

_“Dear passengers, we inform that we’re beginning our landing at Melemele’s Airport. It’s 9:41h at the local hour and the current temperature hits the 27ºC. Please stay sit and fasten your seat belts. We recommend opening the windows to appreciate the view.”_

Yes! The pilot’s message I had been waiting to hear in these latest hours! It was about time!! I looked to Hope who was distracted listening to music with her headphones and with her eyes closed. I scrubbed my head on her arm to call her attention.

“ _Huh?_ What is it, Litten?”, she asked in wonder, removing her sound device. The girl observed me pointing to the window. And once she opened the opaque layer to look behind the glass, her face quickly revealed a wide smile and her eyes were shining as much as her earring. “Look, Litten!! You remember seeing Melemele Island from above at the day of departure, right? It’s the same one we’re about to land in!”

That was true! I remembered the shape of the landmass! I could see the other islands from afar, including our original home! It was a shame that Toxtricity couldn’t witness the landing view because the airline company only allows one accompanying Pokémon per minor passenger not attended by adults. And the same Pokémon needs to be inside a size limit. Safety rules! That’s why Hope took no time to pick up her smartphone and to record the view of the window, to show later to her Pokémon buddies that had to be inside their Poké Balls the entire trip.

The landing could have been a bit more pleasant… _I don’t know but I had the feeling that the pilot was a liiiiiiittle too enthusiastic with the tight curve she did to the right side..._ I felt a little dizzy but thankfully it didn’t take much time before we could get up from the seats upon the plane’s complete stoppage after landing. I don’t understand why some humans disrespect the light signal of unfastening their seat belts by doing it right after the plane touches the tar track. Did you know that the landing phase of an airplane is one of the most dangerous maneuvers in aeronautics? I heard some true stories on television about one of the worst disasters being caused precisely on landing. Just because an airplane is on the floor it doesn’t mean there’s no danger anymore! Humans are hard to understand sometimes, even though my opinion has changed a little in these months. I know I shouldn’t stamp every human the same way, but I grew a big distrust towards strangers since what happened to Hope months ago shortly after we moved to Kanto. Fortunately, a children trio has proved me I can still believe in humanity and how important is to believe. Something I admit to have forgotten about at a certain point. I hoped those kids were doing fine, because I missed them! So did Hope!

We had to wait a little to claim our hold luggage in the rolling mat. It was a little boring but I entertained myself imagining this room was a restaurant and that carpet showcased Sushi pieces instead of heavy bags. I would love to do just in the [Sushi-Go-Round contest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1XdkHvdn24)! I first thought it was a good idea but I regretted the moment my belly begun to rumble. _I was starving!!... And there was few food in the airplane!! I guess that’s what you get by ordering economic class tickets…_

“Alola, Chloe!!”, I heard Hope saying at the phone. “I only saw your message now!.......... _Oh? Sorry, sorry! You’re right!!_ I didn’t say anything yesterday but I had a reason!!............ _No, not music related!!............._ Yes, I got all the Gym Badges of Galar region!!... Thank you!!.........That was the original plan but my grandma thought it was a good idea to buy me a ticket to Alola as soon as I told her the news yesterday afternoon…………….. I tried to tell her I wanted to stop by Kanto first before going to the islands but she didn’t even let me finish and said she would phone my parents right away, and that’s what she did!!.... My parents didn’t oppose so… I had to hurry up and take a train from Hammerlocke’s station to Wyndon’s Airport, _so here I am!!... ……………….. I know, Chloe. It’s truly a family thing because Christophe did the same thing as soon as he learnt I could walk again, hehehe…”_

It’s a shame I couldn’t hear Chloe from the other side of the call, but I could guess the things she was asking on the phone. Hope continued to talk some seconds after listening to her friend:

 _“_ Don’t worry, I’ll stay very few time in here. My journey at Galar took me longer than what I had originally predicted……………. _Wait, what did you say?!..................................... Really?! Since yesterday?!?!_ Chloe, there are some coincidences sometimes one can’t just explain!! I’ll definitely look for them!... Yes, they won’t be expecting to see me!!! _Haha!~ This is perfect!..._ _Oh!_ My hold luggage just appeared on the carpet, I have to go now!.......... I’ll stay tuned, I promise! Take care, Chloe! Talk to you soon!!”

The girl smiled to me while tilting her head to the large bag waiting for us to pick up. I followed her. As soon as she dragged it on the floor with the wheels she happily told me:

“Litten! Chloe just told me we aren’t alone in the region! Ash and Goh are in this very same island since yesterday on research duty!!”

“ _You mean it?! The boys are around?!?!_ ”, I meowed in surprise to her.

“Sometimes I really wonder if this isn’t work from Tapu Bulu, you know?” she commented with a laugh. “Maybe he wanted our paths to cross! What do you say in looking for them once we’re have lunch at my grandparents?”

“I agree, Hope! That means that both Pikachu and Raboot must be with them! I don’t talk with my friends since our last meeting at Motostoke!”

“You’re probably wanting to meet again with the other Pokémon, is that right? I understand! _Now… the exit should be around here. Ah!_ There we go. We’re at the arrivals plaza!”

Indeed! The big number of people gathered in the same room alongside with other Pokémon, the scattered kiosks and convenience shops could only confirm this. We went straight to the outside. Hope stopped at the footstep and took out her Ultra Ball out of her pocket. “Toxtricity, come on out!”, she said while bringing him outside of the spherical object. My big baby brother shook his head, looking everywhere. He was half asleep from such a long trip! “Are we there yet?”, he innocently asked.

Hope smiled, inhaled her lungs and exhaled them. She then told to Toxtricity while looking to the horizon and stretching her arm:

“Toxtricity? We’ve arrived! Welcome to the Alola region!! Mine and Litten’s birthland!”

“ _Whoooaa!!_ ”, he exclaimed in amazement. He immediately licked his finger tips and [played in his chest protrusion a very familiar tune to both of us natives!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM9G-T0kKkA) Hope and I giggled, the music choice was approved! And we followed the girl, clearly thrilled to be back to the islands that saw her born. Experiencing one more the warmth of the Alolan sun, the salty breeze, the tropical scent of vegetation!!!... _And a smell I wasn’t feeling since months: Malasadas!! I so wanted to eat one!!!_

“I know, Litten! We’ll eat Malasadas during our stay, I promise!! I want Toxtricity to taste one as well! But first, we need to pass by Hau’oli City. Grandma sent me a message during flight and asked me to find a few things before taking the boat to Ula’ula Island. I’m going to phone her inside the taxi.”

“OK, then.”, I replied to Hope.

“The weather’s so warm, little big sister!”

“That’s something you can expect from a tropical region like ours! Galar is much colder and gloomier, don’t you agree?”

“ _Don’t remember me about Chirchester’s Bay…_ ”

“I know. Nobody asked you to sit on a Bergmite’s body. Be glad I was near to thaw you out from its Icy Wind!”

Our conversation ended at this moment because Hope had opened the door of a taxi car. “Alola, sir! Please take me to Hau’oli City’s mall!”, she asked the driver who gladly did so once we were all inside. Our Trainer did the phone call to her grandmother, to inform about her arrival to Melemele Island and to ask her more details about the groceries she was asked to do as well. The ride didn’t take much time, even if there was some traffic jam. We were left at the entrance of Hau’oli City’s mall. It was fun to watch Toxtricity’s insatiable curiosity towards everything he was seeing in his surroundings, and the sounds as well! It’s common to listen to some street artists play music for tourists in this Shopping District! “Toxtricity, come inside!”, Hope called him when we were inside the building already. He entered seconds after her call.

“Well, it’s not practical for me to carry such a big luggage around. Can you both stay here keeping an eye on it while I buy the stuff I need? I shouldn’t take long!”

“Sure, Hope!”, we replied.

“Great! I’ll be back!”

Toxtricity begun sniffing the air. “ _It smells goooood…_ ”, he said.

“We’re both starving. But Hope’s grandma has lunch for us, you heard what our Trainer said in the taxi. You’ll want to make sure that you enter in her grandparents’ house with an empty stomach...”

“Is it bad if we eat even a teeny bit before?”

“ _Oh yes, trust me…_ Hope’s grandmother is _very sensitive_ when it comes about the meals she cooks… She _always_ complains that you’re _skinny_ and fill your plate until it gets as _tall_ as Mount Lanakila _…_ _And the ground will shake if you don’t eat everything…_ ”

“ _O-OK-OK… I’ll wait, sis!!_ ”, nervously stuttered Toxtricity, hugging tighter Hope’s large luggage bag.  
  
“It’s better we push it to a corner, or else we’ll block the passage of people! Help me out, Toxtricity! That bench is free!”

I’m not sure how much time did we wait, perhaps twenty minutes? Hope carried _two full bags, poor girl!!_ “ _That’s grandma alright…_ ”, she chuckled with constraint after noticing our faces of surprise.

“ _Sister, I’m scared about Hope’s grandma!!..._ ”

“Litten?... _What did you tell Toxtricity to be trembling like that?_ ”, Hope asked me with an inquisitive look. “Don’t tell me you talked about grandma!!”

It was hard to make a neutral face. _I might have let a smile escape from my lips, oops!!_ The Alolan girl sighed, unimpressed about my behaviour.

“ _You really have a quirky nature… What can I do…_ Well then, Toxtricity, could you help me carry the bags with you? Nevermind what Litten might have told you. Grandma isn’t _that_ bad. She’s a little strict but she’s got a good heart! You see, _Litten got scolded by her a few times…_ ”, she finished to explain with a naughty smirk and a wink.

“ _Is it true, little big sister?!_ ”, asked my brother with his eyes wide open.

“ _I reserve the right to stay silent…_ ”, I said while laughing nervously and detouring my eyes. _Hope busted me well, I admit it…_

We walked out of the mall and Hope had picked up her smartphone to look for information. “ _Let’s see when does the Marina’s next ferry boat departures to our island…_ ”, she muttered in between screen taps. “… Oh wow, it left one three minutes ago!!... This means we’ve got to wait almost one hour before we can travel to the other side!”, she sighed while giving a facepalm. “ _I shouldn’t have peeked the music section…_ ”

Both Toxtricity and I glared to her. This time it wasn’t our fault to have missed this boat. _And we were very hungry._ Sweat slid down over our Trainer’s front, who immediately asked us a question as a way to soften our judgmental looks:

“S-since we need to wait, why don’t we go to the beach a little? _Just to look around!!_ ”

We looked to each other and sighed. _Hope is hopeless when it comes about temptation towards music consumption!!_

Us three walked towards Hau’oli’s beachfront and we were a little disappointed to see how crowded it was for this time of the year. _I believe that Alola has been in fashion lately…_ It was definitely not giving us any will to step a single grain of sand if it’s to be squashed by foreign tourists! Hope thought for a moment and an idea flashed, telling us what she had thought to overcome the problem:

“We still have some time in our hands. I remember there’s other beach in the outskirts of the city, more in the south of Route 1. It’s usually calmer because of how further it is from the urban area, and only locals go there. Would you like to check it out or do you prefer to go to the Marina?”

“Can I be honest?...”, Toxtricity asked while scratching his nape. “I want to stretch my legs. I spent a lot of time inside the ball…”

“I wasn’t inside the ball and even I want to walk for a bit. I’m definitely going to that beach!”

We looked again to Hope and she managed to read well our facial expressions. “Alright, but if you want to check it properly, I advise you to run! We don’t want to miss the boat for the second time!”

“Agreed! So let’s not lose more time! _I’m off_!!”, I enthusiastically responded while sprinting out with my tiny paws.

“WAIT UP!! _WE DIDN’T COUNT!!_ ”, my brother complained while chasing me with his short legs and carrying the heavy shopping bags.

“ _Heey!! Don’t leave me here with the luggage!!_ ”, Hope shouted to us while chasing and dragging behind the large trolley bag!

We were there in a matter of minutes. Hope and Toxtricity were exhausted. The red-haired girl even dropped her knees to the footstep, panting loudly. The Punk Pokémon did weird noises of tiredness with his tongue outside his large purple mouth.

“This was nice!”, I commented with a smile.

“ _Speak by yourself…”_ , my brother replied bitterly while showing the shopping bags. _“If you were an Incineroar… you could have helped with one of the bags!...”_

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in becoming a Torracat right now!”, I giggled while sticking out my tongue with a wink. “Even if I did so it would take a while before I could stand by two!”

“ _Geez, little big sister…_ ”

Hope took off a water bottle from her backpack and drank it all at once, placing the empty bottle inside a yellow bin nearby. She then took out another bottle and showed to Toxtricity, who didn’t even hesitate to pick it up and drink it fast. “ _I’m glad I bought a few inside the Shopping Mall…_ ”, our Trainer commented as she cleaned the sweat on her forehead. She begun to look to her surroundings. From afar, we could see the peak of Ten Carat Hill and the crystalline sea. Her eyes followed the grassy path that blends with sand at a certain spot to observe the empty beach. Now this was a place where we could step in! But something had caught the attention of her scarlet eyes on her left field of view. There was movement… _Bummer…_

“It looks like some people had the same idea as us… _Wait!!_ No way!!”

“What is it, sis?”, the Punk Pokémon asked me in wonder.

“It’s the boyfriends!!! They’re over there!!”

“Really?! I can’t hear them talking!”

“But I can see them! My vision is better than yours!”

“We should tell Hope it’s them!!”

And that’s what we’ve tried to explain by pulling her arms and legs towards their direction. It was enough for Hope to take off her smartphone and activate the camera’s zoom to act as binoculars. As soon as she identified her Kantonian friends, she let out a playful giggle. “ _A Hundred Sweet Malasadas, Litten, Toxtricity!!_ What are the odds of finding your friends in the same island and same area as you?! _Hahaha!!~_ I’m _so going_ to _prank_ them, just pay attention!!”

 _Oh, here we go!_ It was pranking time! Hope loves to do these to her closest friends. I remember she telling us in the last week we were at Galar region that she had noted a few ideas of pranks she wanted to do to Chloe once they would meet up again. I can’t wait to see that pigtailed lass irritated about how easily she falls for Hope’s plays, I miss that girl! Our Trainer decided to hide behind a nearby palm tree and called us with her hand gesture. Once side to her, she tapped a few times on the phone’s screen and put the call on speaker. I decided to peek towards the tiny figures of theirs nearby water. Toxtricity leaned closer to the device that emitted the typical sound of when a call’s being done. Goh picked up his device from his sweatshirt pocket and answered a “Hello? Is that you Hope?”. Hope’s smile widened.

“ _Alola, Goh!!_ It’s been a while I give you a call!”

“It’s true! Alola to you too! How’s your journey since our last talk?”

“Things have improved, I have so much to tell you when I return to Kanto!”

“I can’t wait that you tell us more about your experiences!”, Goh asked with an evident tone of joke.

“So do I! Goh, I’ve done a great discovery that neither you nor Ash are going to believe in it!!”

“ _A discovery?!_ ”, the slender boy asked with a higher pitch. Ash had approached his boyfriend, alerted by his voice rise. “ _A rare Pokémon?! An undiscovered one?!?!_ ”

“I’ve discovered I have psychic abilities!!”

“ _W-What?! What do you mean by psychic abilities?!_ ”

“No, _really_! _I do!!_ I can actually describe your surroundings right now! I see a turquoise sea behind your backs and you’re stepping almost white sand. And at your front there’s four palm trees and a soil inclination with lots of thick grass. _Very familiar if you want my opinion!! You guys aren’t definitely on a Kantonian beach!!”_

“ _EEEEEEEEEH?!?!?! HOW DO YOU KNOW?!?_ ”, interjected loudly the Vermilion Citizen that even Hope’s phone speaker screeched with it! _Hahaha!!_ By the way I was seeing Ash moving his arms to his disoriented lover who kept looking around nervously, he was surely very confused about what was going on! Hope was doing massive effort to not laugh, and she continued:

“Do you want me to tell more? Sobble is splashing at the shallow water on Ash’s left. Pikachu is between you and your soulmate. And Raboot is turned to a large mountain. Again, something I’m _one hundred percent sure_ I’ve seen it before. It’s called the Ten Carat Hill, the tallest mountain of Melemele Island! _You guys went to travel to Alola region without me?!?!_ ”

Goh is a hilarious child when his analytical thinking is defied with things beyond comprehension! _I couldn’t stop cackling, neither Toxtricity!!_ The charcoal-hair lad said something to Ash after dropping the hand that had the Rotom Phone and the lightning-cheeks boy probably learnt about Hope’s _“clairvoyance”_ because he begun to act similarly to his special one and even to dig on the sand to see if there wasn’t a _hidden camera or anything identical!! “Hope, where’s the camera?! Ash and I can’t find it!!”,_ Goh anxiously asked. Hope laughed, saying “Goh, tell Ash to stop to dig on the sand. There’s nothing there!”. Noticing her analytical friend had shared this information to the cap-wearing youngster, she finally told them: “Look to your left, to the palm trees that lead to Route 1. I don’t see you through technology!”

Their facial expressions of astonishment were worth the wait the moment they detected the palm tree in question and our Trainer and showed up herself. “ _HOPE?!?!?!_ ” they loudly exclaimed! _PffffaAAA!! Their mouths were so opened!!!_

“Alola, Goh! Alola, Ash!! _Haha~!_ ”, she greeted as Alolan folks do with their shoulders rotation, while jumping from the slope to the sand and running towards them.

“ _What are you doing in here?!?!_ ”, Goh shouted with a smile on his lips and opening his arms at the same time as Ash who added an enthusiastic “ _You’re back!!_ ”. The three hugged tightly and their laughter echoed the desertic beach.

“You scared me for a moment with the prank!”

“I’m sorry, Goh! I couldn’t resist the moment I saw you both from afar.”, admitted Hope while sticking out her tongue for a brief moment.

“How did you know we were here?”, Ash asked.

“If you want me to tell the truth, I’ve only learnt about it around an hour ago thanks to the phone call I did to Chloe. She told me you guys were here in research duty since yesterday!”

“You must have arrived recently then!”, Goh observed by seeing Hope carrying her heavy backpack and the hold luggage left a few meters above the soil and grass slope.

“I did!”

“Litten and Toxtricity are over there! Alola!!”, Ash noted and happily waved to us. “You’re right! Alola, Litten! Alola, Toxtricity!”, Goh added with the same spirit. We smiled and greeted back from our spots. Pikachu, Raboot and Sobble walked closer to their Trainers and our electric roedent’s eyes illuminated themselves. “Litten and Toxtricity are here with Hope!! _What a surprise!!_ _Alola!!_ ”, Pikachu exclaimed.

“Alola, Pikachu! It has been since a month we’ve seen each other!”

“Hello there!”, Toxtricity greeted Ash’s Pokémon while playing a quick tune on his chest protrusion.

“I thought you were still in Galar region!”, Raboot spoke to us Pokémon. I smirked and reacted:

“And I thought you were in Kanto region!”

“It’s great to see you again, Litten. And Toxtricity as well. You seem to be in better shape since our last meeting.”

“Greetings, my burning rabbit dude! I guarantee you I’m stronger since then! And so do you!”, my brother responded with a wink. He smiled even more when he saw Sobble and said:

“Sobble! Hello! It’s cool to see you close to us!”

Sobble retreated a little. He let out a shy _“H-Hello…! Nice to see you both…_ ”

“I’m happy to see you too, Sobble! Is it me or you’re a little less shy? At least you seem to be more comfortable with Goh.”

“ _H-He takes good care of me…_ ”

“As expected!”, I grinned. “You’re in good hands with Goh!”

Hope observed her friends’ Pokémon and winked to the three of them. “Alola, guys! You look great!! Even Sobble!”, she commented. “Alola, Hope!”, they responded, each on their own way.

“Professor Kukui told me I’m taking good care of him! It’s great to have a feedback from a specialist!”  
  
“ _A Hundred Sweet Malasadas!!_ Did you find Professor Kukui?! Lucky you! I never thought back when I was watching the Alolan League Championship that the Masked Royal is a Pokémon Professor in reality!”

“Imagine how I felt when I figured out that Professor Kukui and the Masked Royal are the same person! We’ve been hosted at his house.”

Hope’s eyebrows lifted in perplexity upon listening to Ash’s statement. I did the same thing!! “ _…I-I might have heard badly but you just told me you’ve been hosted at the Masked Royal’s house._ ”

“Oh, yeah! I just said that. It’s right behind us!”

Our Trainer turned her head to the direction her cap-wearing friend was pointing at. _That’s right, I was seeing the same as she did._ There was a modest and simple looking wooden house with a sand path leading to it. Our jaws were gradually dropping and Hope’s eye pupils were shrinking almost to the size of a mistletoe. I have no idea how mine looked like but it was probably very identical! She silently looked to the boys’ faces to make sure this wasn’t a joke. _Ash was as neutral as before, like this was the most normal thing in the world!!_ Goh just nodded with his head.

“ _WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?_ ”, Hope and I shouted in surprise, incredulous with the information! Ash and Pikachu laughed. Goh grinned. Sobble went to Raboot’s head while becoming invisible, and the latter just closed his eyes. Toxtricity kept shifting his visual focal point. “I can present you to Professor Kukui! He’s inside!”, Ash suggested, winking. _Of course, fans of The Masked Royal like us couldn’t miss such chance!!_

We took no time to reach the house’s façade. Hope had to climb the slope again in order to drag the wheeled luggage because Toxtricity’s arms were occupied with the groceries bags! “ _Professor Kukui!_ ”, Ash called for the man’s name after knocking the door. It was weird to see the Masked Royal in lab coat opening the entrance! Both Hope and I were frozen on our spots, staring to an old idol of ours! “Did you use Amnesia again, Ash?”, he jokingly asked with his white smile. I heard a female voice inside asking out loud:

“ _Did Ash forget his Rotom Phone again?_ ”

“No, no, Professor Burnet!!” Ash responded while scratching his nape with slight embarrassment. He then explained: “There’s actually a friend of mine and Goh that we would like to present you!”

Hope and I froze in our spots once the tall muscled man looked to us behind those green-framed sunglasses. Ash giggled and said “Come on! Won’t you greet the Masked Royal?” while giving a slap to Hope’s backpack, pushing her a bit forward. She exclaimed out of surprise and the poor girl, blushing furiously, bent downwards to bow and presented herself: “A-Alola, Masked Royal!! No!! _I mean!!_ Professor Kukui!! It’s amazing to know you! _Uh!!!_ It’s a pleasure to meet you! I-I saw you battling before a-and-and!!...”

The professor let out a happy laughter as he cautiously placed an arm on Hope’s shoulder. “It’s not good to be in that position which such a heavy bag, my young! Why don’t you come in?”

Hope lifted her eyebrows in surprise while she quickly looked to the boys, who nodded with a wink. _Sweet Soda Pop, we were just invited to enter in his house!!_ Ash and Goh did it after Hope’s timid thanking and careful entrance inside the wooden habitation. It’s modest on the inside, there’s even a fish tank with two Luvdisc and one Corsola that were relaxing inside that glass structure. A white-haired woman, that soon I would confirm it was Professor Burnet that Ash was naming before, was feeding a baby in the living room’s green seats. She looked to the side and positively commented to Kukui: “Oh, there’s a new guest here?”

“And she seems to be a known friend of Ash and Goh! What’s your name?”

“M-My name’s Hope… _S-Sorry for bothering… E kala mai i a`u…_ ”, our Trainer presented herself while shyly apologizing with her tense limbs.

“You’re not! Friends of our dear Ash and Goh are part of our big _ohana_ as well! Welcome to our house, Hope! And from what I could tell, I don’t need to present my alter-ego…”, he chuckled while winking. “But I should do it for my true person: I’m Professor Kukui, and I study Pokémon in the region. I specialize in Pokémon moves. I also teach at the Pokémon School of this same island.”

“I should introduce myself as well. I’m Professor Burnet, and this is our son Lei! Say hi, to Hope!”, she sweetly told her son while gently moving his tiny arm to our Trainer. Hope, Toxtricity and I smiled because he was really cute! “I’m a researching scientist at Aether Paradise, studying in depth the Ultra Wormholes phenomenon of Alola.”

“Wow! I think I remember reading an article about you, Professor Burnet! Didn’t you study about the Interdream Zone when you lived in Unova?!”, asked Hope with expectation. The woman’s eyes widened in delight to listen to a term she was familiar about.

“Ah! You know about my previous work? It must have been after the press had written articles about my researching team’s findings. I’m surprised that a child is aware about my work!”

“The Interdream Zone?”, Goh asked in wonder, looking to Ash seconds later who also exchanged a look of unawareness about the theme.

“It’s a little difficult to explain but from what I remember that’s how Professor Burnet described it to be the space between dreams and reality. You need special gear called Visoscope to see some cloud masses that are invisible to the naked eye. Those clouds can materialize into orbs and certain Pokémon can be rescued from those!”

“Really?!”, Goh exclaimed in astonishment.

“Pokémon that can appear on our dreams and be caught?!”, Ash excitingly asked on his seat.

“It’s much more complicated than that Ash. The Interdream Zone isn’t exactly like dreams. It works like a parallel dimension to our world but the Pokémon can be caught, yes! It looks like you two have got a well-informed friend!” Professor Burnet smiled and commented this after giving other spoon of food to Lei. “I confirm that all that Hope has said is correct. However… It’s not as easy as it might sound like even though my Pokémon Professor thesis was about dreams. Dream Clouds are a very rare occurrence and they’re difficult to study. I didn’t manage to fully understand the causes, and why only certain Pokémon appear. And my best researching assistant of the project had to leave at a point. Because of the high difficulty of this study, I decided to move to Alola to focus in the Ultra Wormholes research in cooperation with Aether Foundation.”

“I’ve heard about these too…! But I never saw one with my own eyes!”

“I did a few times!”, Ash affirmed with a smile.

“Geez, Ash. You were in this region for much less time than me and you’ve seen a lot more than I did!”, Hope pouted in a false complaint.

“Hope, I also never saw an Ultra Wormhole for real! Actually, I might have seen one in a video I vaguely remember to watch last year.”, Goh informed our Trainer.

“A video?”

“Yes.”, Goh nodded assertively, looking to the ceiling in an attempt to remember about his distant memory. “I’m almost certain it was one. I was researching about Mew and I fell on some articles about other legendary Pokémon that were known to be Psychic-types. And I read about Lunala.”

The attentions had turned to the boy of the blue eyes, Ash and myself included. The prominent eyelashes lad continued to speak:

“It was a short video, but I could listen to her cry during a night flight. She vanished in a finger-snap. When I replayed the video in slow-motion, there was a flash of white light but it seemed to have a strange texture, like a shattered glass?...”

“Yes! That’s an Ultra Wormhole, Goh!”, Kukui’s wife confirmed it. “Lunala is believed to live in other world and she can open Ultra Wormholes at her will. Her nest was never found, despite of the entire scientific community’s efforts. It’s not easy to obtain videos because of how quickly these happen and how they can appear from anywhere in our skies. We only managed to have a few of them some months back when we had Ultra Beast outbreaks.”

“We have lots to talk about then!”, Professor Kukui observed, also admired by the unusual knowledge Hope had about these scientific subjects. The muscled man then looked to Toxtricity and I with a hinted interest. “Hope! Are these your Pokémon?”

“They’re my two main partners!”

“Well, well! It’s the first time I see a real Toxtricity specimen! The colour and the brightness level of the electric frills really show that he’s in good health. Where did you find him, Hope?”

“He hatched from an egg that a cousin of mine gave me! He lives in Galar!”

“Hope has just returned from a long journey at Galar region!”, Ash explained.

“You must be hungry from such a long trip, don’t you want to drink a Sitrus Juice or something? Kukui, could you finish to feed Lei if you don’t mind? I’ll prepare a juice for her!”

“ _No, thank you!!_ I’m fine, really! I appreciate your offer!!”

“Don’t be so timid and sit down with your friends!” Professor Burnet told her while giving a wink. “You can leave your backpack at the entrance, you look tired!”

“ _Oh!_ Thanks but…”

“We insist!”, the male scientist assured while taking off the backpack out of Hope’s back. “It’s really heavy!”

 _“M-Mahalo… Thank you…”_ , Hope thanked while shyly sitting nearby Ash and Goh.

Professor Kukui had also spent a few seconds to observe me upon placing Hope’s backpack nearby the main door and grinned, commenting: “And this Litten also looks very healthy to me! Would it be ok if I see better both of your Pokémon once Lei finishes to eat?”

“Oh, s-sure! I don’t mind!!”

“I’m sure they have must know very awesome moves!”, he happily noted while exchanging places with his wife, to continue to feed Lei while Burnet had gone to the kitchen’s counter to prepare the famous Sitrus Juice.

Goh gave a subtle giggle and whispered to Hope: “ _It’s ok, Hope! Professor Burnet did the same thing to me yesterday after returning from the researching duty of the day. The juice is very good by the way!_ ”

“So, Hope! Tell us more about you!”, the bearded man asked our Trainer while feeding his son. “Judging by your perfect Alolan accent and the necklace and cap symbols you’re carrying you must be a fellow countrygirl of ours!”

“Y-Yes! I was born at Malie City and lived there until a few months ago when my parents and I moved to Kanto region. Now I live in Vermilion City, where I’ve met Ash and Goh!”

“So, our guest is from Ula’ula Island!”, Professor Burnet observed while preparing the juice in her zone. “Do you have family members over there or in other islands?”

“My paternal grandparents live there! They have actually bought me plane tickets to Alola to pass a few days with them before returning to Kanto. We didn’t see each other for real since we moved to other region.”

“Oh! So that’s why you’re here!”, Ash exclaimed in realization.

“It makes sense now! It would be impossible for Hope to predict we were here since a day if she only learnt about this an hour ago!”, Goh commented.

“Talking about that!!...”, Hope exclaimed, looking again to her smartphone. “ _AAAH!!_ ”

“What’s the matter?!”, Ash hurryingly asked, alarmed by Hope’s yelping. “ _I-I missed other boat…_ ”

“ _Again?..._ ”, I asked, sighing at the same time as Toxtricity.

“ _It’s the second one, little big sister…_ ”

“To Ula’ula Island?”, Professor Kukui asked. “Yeah, these boats departure at every hour for most of the day.”

“ _Well… I guess I have to wait other hour to see them…_ ”, Hope noted with a faint voice, sighing.

“That means we have more time to talk, Hope! I’m also preparing a Sitrus Juice for your Pokémon! They also must be hungry from the long airplane trip!”, Professor Burnet observed.

“Our son doesn’t travel yet but he’s _got a_ _Stockpile appetite, I must tell you…_ ”

Ash, Goh and Burnet laughed about Kukui’s comment. Hope gave a timid giggle. She was still trying to relax in the presence of such important people.

“I wouldn’t mind drinking right now…”, Toxtricity commented. I gave a small glare, to remind him that we would eat at Hope’s grandparents’ house. Pikachu cut me out: “Don’t be like that to Toxtricity! Please try Professor Burnet’s Sitrus Juice, it’s delicious!”

I sighed. “ _Alright. Only because you’re asking nicely, Pikachu…_ ”, I told him. But I kept thinking to myself that the upcoming hours were going _be infernal at the meal time…_

“Please wait just a little longer, I’m almost done!”, the lime green-eyed woman sweetly asked Hope, Toxtricity and I. “Hope, have you done the Island Challenge before?”

“I did! Hold on a moment please!”

The human children and adults looked to Hope in curiosity since she had gotten up to check for something in her backpack. She walked to the center of the division a minute later to show her Island Challenge amulet, her box of Z-Crystals and her dark red Z-Ring that she had just equipped on her wrist.

“Wow! How many are inside?!”, the man asked.

“Nineteen!”

“ _Nineteen?!_ That’s a Giga Impact of a collection, Hope!”

“Impressive!”, Professor Burnet exclaimed after her husband’s statement. “There aren’t many Trainers that obtain more than the minimum necessary to complete the challenge! In fact, I don’t know any other Trainer of your age that had gotten all the elemental Z-Crystals!”

“Unfortunately, there wasn’t a Pokémon League back when I did this trial so Litten and I decided to take on extra challenges to see how further we could go!”

“Hang on, Hope! _Did you carry your collection during your Galar adventure?..._ ”, Goh questioned with some perplexity.

Hope let out an awkward laughter, scratching her cheek. “I already know how my grandparents are. I was almost certain that the moment I would tell them I would return to Kanto, they would force me to visit them first. And since we never know what things could happen in the stay, I brought my gear!”

Ash gave us a scare with a loud dry noise he did on the table because he had dropped his forehead on the surface, while regretting with a covered voice: _“Maaaan! If I knew I would have stopped by Pallet Town and picked up my Z-Ring as well!...”_

“You had no way to guess either, Ash! _Cheer up_!”, Goh awkwardly tried to calm him down while petting his back.

“Watch out with your head, boy!! _Don’t use Headbutt on the table!_ ”, Professor Kukui scolded Ash gently.

“Do I need to check my first-aid kit?”, Burnet asked while bringing a glass Sitrus Juice for Hope and two cups of it for my big baby brother and I. Pikachu winked to us. Raboot and Sobble just nodded. Hope and us thanked Professor Burnet for the drinks.

“ _I’m fine…_ ”, Ash assured after getting up and showing that the skin of his front was all normal.

“ _You’re so silly…_ ”, Goh commented. It was cute to see him adjusting Ash’s hair and cap position, details that made Hope let a smile escape.

“ _Wow!!_ I love this drink!!”, Toxtricity happily let us Pokémon know.

“It’s tasty, isn’t it?”, Raboot asked normally. “Refreshing at least.”

“It surely is! I had tasted different ones but this one of Professor Kukui’s wife is among the best ones!”, I said.

The white-haired scientist smiled while looking to our feasting. “It seems it’s approved by your Pokémon, Hope! Is it good?”

“It is! I was about to say it! I don’t drink this juice for months so I feel back at home! Thank you!”

“What a lovely compliment! I’m glad!”

“My wife makes the best juices a man could ever wish for!”, Professor Kukui happily said it while winking to her who appreciated the compliment. “And Lei agrees that his mother’s food is the best!”, he added as he gotten up while petting the baby’s head. “I’ll do the dishes.”

“Fair enough. I’ll sit down side to the kids if that’s ok. I want to know Hope better.”

The docile smile of Professor Burnet made Hope feel a little overwhelmed with such a warm welcoming at their space. However, more questions had followed. The usual stuff to ask to a child. Professor Kukui had quickly joined us, also interested about Hope’s backstory. She explained everything that the boys already knew about her past and how she had met Ash and Goh rather recently. The married couple was both impressed and touched by her story. Burnet had cried a little, poor her! Kukui couldn’t stop asking Hope to get up and walk a bit if it wasn’t a troublesome request for her. He even removed his cap to scratch his hair, incredulous.

“Hope, I would have never guessed you weren’t capable to walk a few months ago if you didn’t tell us about it! It’s an _Astonish_ -ing story!”

“It’s one with a happy ending! I’m glad you could travel to Galar without any problems!”, Kukui’s wife movingly noted. “I couldn’t be prouder of Ash and Goh’s hearts and determination to help you to walk again!”

“Aaw, it was nothing!”, Ash told us all with a faint blush on his cheeks and scrubbing his nose with a finger. “My Pokémon and Goh’s ones were also very helpful in her recovery.”

“We were all touched with Hope’s story and we truly wanted to help her.”, Goh added, also with a reddish face as he scratched his own nape. “Chloe, a common friend of ours, was also quite tireless to encourage Hope to recover.”

“It’s a shame she isn’t around, I would have loved to show her my region…”, regretted Hope with a disappointment look on her eyes.

“But Hope! Let’s go back to the Masked Royal subject of before!”, Ash tried to lift Hope’s spirit out of that negative state she was just showing. She got alarmed with the statement and almost wanted to ask him to hush. “ _Ash!!!_ ”, Hope loudly called for his name with her face as red as her hair. The Professor’s eyes illuminated themselves, and he let out a loud laughter.

“Thanks for reminding me about this, Ash! So, you said at the entrance that you have seen my alter-ego’s battles!! Yeah! Let me give you an autograph and take a selfie in the end! I’ll be back!”

I was chuckling with how embarrassed was our Trainer! Toxtricity was smiling about this as well! Something we could understand from the bit we had been inside Professor Kukui’s home, is that he’s a perfectly normal person with a normal life, unlike the popular myths and beliefs that turn around celebrities. He’s got a job, he’s a married man and he’s got a son! Burnet, Ash and Goh were trying to make Hope lift her head and relax, finding cute how embarrassed she was. The scientist with a vest tied on her waist tried to break the ice by happily telling her: “I understand how overwhelming it can be to know the Masked Royal! I was a big fan of him as well and I had no idea that he and my husband were the same person! I lost my floor once I discovered the truth! But now I’m completely relaxed about this and it’s a fun story to tell to Lei once he grows up!”

Hope lifted her head as soon as Professor Kukui said from afar “So, we heard we’ve got fans of our battles waiting for us right here!! Where are they?”. And once we both looked, we gasped. _There was no doubt!_ We were seeing the _real deal_ of the Masked Royal! The pants and his trademarking mask! And to my shock, HIS INCINEROAR WAS SIDE TO HIM AND I WAS ABOUT TO SCREAM OUT OF EXCITEMENT, _SWEET SODA POP!_

“ _Whoaaaa!!!_ ”, interjected Hope with glittering eyes. “ _It’s really you!!!_ “

“The true one, Hope!”, he exclaimed. “Now come between Incineroar and I and let’s take a photo!”

“I can do it!”, Goh volunteered while showing his Rotom Phone. “I could send the photograph to your phone right after!”

“Thanks Goh! It would be awesome!”, Hope thanked. “Litten! Let’s take this photo!”

“Sure, sure!”, I meowed to her while preparing my pose. “Hey, Toxtricity! Don’t you want to be in the photo?”

“I don’t mind just looking, little big sister! You and Hope are bigger fans of the Masked Royal than I! You’re the ones that need to be in the photo!”

“Fair enough. We both know you would give _anything_ to take a photo with the Carracosta Quartet actors!”, I responded with a naughty smirk. Toxtricity couldn’t hide his blushing expression, a rare sight!

“Ready when you are!”, Goh said while holding his portable device, already by foot and centered to the group.

“ _At zero! Three… two… one!... Eeeeeeeeeeeenjoy!!!~_ ”, us four shouted the catchphrase while doing the characteristic pose of the Masked Royal. Goh sent the photo to Hope’s phone the moment she approved how the picture had turned in the end. We were thrilled about this!! And it seems it was making Lei laughing on his mother’s arms!

“Don’t forget your autograph!”, Professor Kukui warned while removing his mask and handing over the signed board.

“Thank you so much! I’ll treasure it alongside with the photo!!”

“Now that I’m using Foresight to look better to you… Weren’t you a student at Akala’s Judo Academy?”

“I was! I remember when you visited my class at a point as a special guest!”

“ _Aaah, so that explains!_ It happens that we’re not strangers at all, Hope! Woo! Even your name became clear on my memory just now! I remember seeing you in the exercises of your sensei, and I even commented in private to him that you were a talented student! He agreed!”

“Oh, really?”, Hope wondered, timidly appreciating the compliment. “Litten and I also liked to watch your matches in the times we could visit Akala’s Battle Royal Dome! They inspired me to check some videos online to learn how to make some wrestling moves for self-defense!”

“Woo! Everyone watch out for Hope! Mess up with her or with her friends and you’ll taste her Darkest Lariat!”, kindly joked Professor Kukui while petting her shoulders in between laughter. Hope was laughing along, much more relaxed! Kukui’s Incineroar looked to me and winked. My eyes shone! “I’m a big fan of yours! You battle great!!”, I told him.

“It’s good to know about it, little one! You look strong for a Litten! Weren’t you supposed to be a Torracat already?”

“Or even an Incineroar like you! But I enjoy to be in this body, so I still have time to know if I’ll ever want to evolve! But Incineroar! Since I began travelling with my Trainer, we’ve only lost twice! _We’re tough girls!_ ”

“Evolution doesn’t matter in battle! What it counts is one’s passion and determination to win! Ash’s Incineroar has shown me this last time we fought, when he was still a Torracat. And my loss inspired me to continue to train and become better! Don’t ever give up, Litten!”

“ _Yeah!!_ You can bet in that!”

Professor Kukui’s Incineroar was really sweet! A side I didn’t know outside battling. Just like his Trainer, he’s a completely normal Pokémon. Hope was also delighted to meet the Masked Royal’s signature Pokémon! The Pokémon Professor and Pro Wrestler took the opportunity to showcase his other partners: a Braviary, a Lucario, a Venusaur and an Empoleon. These had been already presented to the boyfriends’ Pokémon, Incineroar included, the day before from what they commented to Toxtricity and I. We had a quick chat with them, as well giving my congratulations for their combats back in the League. Hope was delighted to interact with these Pokémon, likewise. Aware of Hope’s great interest towards the Alolan Pokémon League Championship, Ash got up from his green cushion and suggested:

“Since we’re talking about the Pokémon League battles, would you like to meet my buddies from the combats you’ve seen on TV? They are under Professor Kukui and Burnet’s care since I returned to Kanto!”

“ _They’re here?!_ ”, Hope enthusiastically asked.

“Yeah! They’re probably in the backyard, no?”

“Yes, they were sleeping there over the sand before you two left the house!”, Kukui’s wife confirmed.

“Come on outside, Hope! I want you and your Pokémon to meet them!”

“Amazing! I’m excited!!”, Hope interjected enthusiastically.

“It’s nap time for Lei so I’m taking the opportunity to put him to sleep. Don’t make noise when you return!”

“I’ll make sure Ash won’t be noisy!”, Goh assured to Professor Burnet.

“ _I’m not noisy, Goh!_ ”, Ash complained to his special one who giggled as he was walking outside, followed by Raboot and Sobble. Pikachu went after Ash.

“Wait up!”, Hope asked them while she was saving the Masked Royal’s autograph back to her backpack alongside her Island Challenge amulet and the Z-Crystals box, following the lovebirds right after. Toxtricity and I did the same, and my big baby brother took the chance to [play a different tune on his chest protrusion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT0AW6uP8Hg) after all this time he was quietly listening to the human talk.

And here they were! Four Pokémon napping on the sand, catching sunbathes! “ _Hey guys!!_ ”, Ash happily called them out loud. “ _Wake up!!_ There’s a few friends of ours that would like to meet you!”

“ _Ah?... I had just closed my eyes…_ ”, I heard Ash’s special Lycanroc saying with grogginess, stretching himself and shaking his fur.

“Friends, he said?”, Melmetal asked, getting up with that massive silvered body. Rowlet was napping inside the hexnut of its belly. “Rowlet!! We have company!”

“Oh?!”, Rowlet interjected once the mysterious Steel-type popped up the air bubble of his beak. “Did you call me?”

“ _You’re always the same thing…_ ”, Ash’s Incineroar ranted while yawning loudly and getting up. “I don’t know any other Pokémon besides Komala that sleeps this much!”

“Meet up our friend Hope! She watched our battles on TV, including the finals and the special Masked Royal combat!”, Ash joyfully presented our Trainer to his Pokémon while pointing with his arms.

“It’s really them!!!”, she said with great excitement in her voice. After some silence on their side, they ran towards the Alolan girl as they shouted “ _A FRIEND!!!_ ”, circling her and hugging with great warmth. Hope blushed and laughed, not expecting this! Neither Toxtricity and I!

“Wooow, really!”, the red-haired girl continued to talk. “It’s surreal for me to see the strongest Pokémon of Alola region right here!! Lycanroc!! Your form is very unique! And you have an impressive Stone Edge move! Your Counter was decisive to win the championship!”

“Why, thank you, Hope!!”, Lycanroc barked to her with his wiggling tail, happy about her compliment and fur petting.

“And you’ve got to tell me more about your Melmetal, Ash! I couldn’t find any information online back when I saw the matches! I never saw this Pokémon before!”

“I asked things about it to Professor Kukui yesterday because I also knew nothing about it.”, Goh noted. “Apparently it’s a new species that was discovered very recently and very few is known yet. Melmetal is a Steel-type that can deliver some of the strongest punches out of all Pokémon!”

“No wonder! I remember how it took down Professor Kukui’s Empoleon during the Exhibition Match!”

“The move’s called Double Iron Bash!”, Ash explained her while Melmetal pridefully flexed its heavy arms in front of us.

“It wasn’t difficult to take care of Empo-… Oooh, what’s that? _Looks yummy…!_ ”

The giant Hex Nut Pokémon approached Hope to have a better look to her necklace. Rowlet screeched in panic and pecked his arm. “LET THAT GO! THAT’S NOT FOOD!!”

“Sorry, sorry!!!!”, Melmetal immediately apologized, retreating his silvered limb.

“Melmetal! Hope’s necklace is important for her! Don’t eat it!!”, scolded Ash.

“I-It’s ok, Ash!! Its diet is metal?...”

“ _It seems it is…_ ”, Goh awkwardly confirmed it.

Hope turned her attentions towards Ash’s Rowlet. “You’re the same Rowlet that managed to win against a Decidueye!! The way you used the cloak you were wearing in one of the battles to escape to Decidueye’s Spirit Shackle was one mind-blowing strategy that I wasn’t even expecting it! It was great to watch it!”

“Hahaha! Neither he did! I had everything under my control to help Ash win that match!”, Rowlet smugly said it with sparkles around his round head.

“Under control, really?! You gave us all a scare when you were caught sleeping on the battlefield, Ash didn’t like it!!”, Incineroar observed with disapproval.

“ _Incineroar!!..._ ”, Hope called him in admiration. The Pokémon faced her, wondering what she was going to say. “Litten and I are big fans of your performance in the Pokémon League, when you were still a Torracat! Your resilience in battle is inspiring and admirable!! I was badly hurt in the hospital when I watched you and your teammates’ battles. And seeing you battling with Ash, encouraged me to don’t give up in my dreams, even if to others it might sound crazy or impossible to reach. You were amazing!!”

“Why… I inspired this girl?”, Incineroar wondered, blinking his eyes.

“She’s saying the truth, Incineroar. When we met each other, she recognized me right away from the League matches and she did tell me how she loved your battles!”

After Ash had explained this to him, Hope stretched her hand and looked to Incineroar’s angular yellow eyes, as her usual way to ask for a Pokémon if she can pet it. The Heel Pokémon smiled a few moments later. “Go ahead.”, I heard him telling her. The girl gave a sweet laughter as she pet his head and whiskers.

“Ash! Didn’t you have other Pokémon in the matches?”

“Oh! You must be talking about Naganadel! He went back to his home, in other world to take care of other Poipole.”

“Poipole?”

“Hold on, what’s a Naganadel? Rotom! Please show me data about Naganadel!”

And the device dictated us the following text after Goh’s request:

_“Naganadel! The Poison Pin Pokémon! Poison and Dragon type and the evolved form of Poipole! One kind of Ultra Beast, it fires a glowing, venomous liquid from its needles. This liquid is also immensely adhesive.”_

“Yes, that’s the one I remember to see!”, Hope confirmed.

“I didn’t know it was the evolved form of the Poipole you told us about at Hope’s house at other time, Ash.”

“He evolved one day, Goh. And he appeared during the championship to help me to win! I hope he’s doing fine with the others of his kind…”

“From what I’ve seen in the battles, I wouldn’t be worried about the Poipole’s safety.”, Hope opined, with Goh agreeing with her with a nod. Ash smiled humbly.

“What about me, Hope? You won’t say anything about what I’ve done in the League? I’ve contributed too for Ash’s victory!”, I heard Pikachu falsely protesting towards Hope nearby her leg.

“Oh! Sorry, Pikachu!!”, Hope blushed a little while picking the Electric-type Pokémon up. “You already know what I think! There isn’t any other Pikachu like you, and I’m sure that you’re already a living legend for the inhabitants of Alola! How could I forget that explosive 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt against Tapu Koko?!”

“Much better!”, Pikachu nodded in approval.

“Pikachu wanted Hope’s compliments too!”, Goh giggled.

“Pikachu, I didn’t teach you to be like that!”, Ash called out Pikachu’s attention, feeling awkward by his Pokémon’s overconfident behaviour. Pikachu stuck out his tongue and winked, and Hope laughed. I looked to my left and I observed my big baby brother approaching the champions of the islands to greet them.

“Nice to meet you all, my dudes!”, Toxtricity talked to the group of Pokémon. “You do look strong like everyone says!”

“What a nice guy!”, Incineroar commented with a subtle smile on his face.

“What are you, exactly?”, Lycanroc asked while sniffing around my big baby brother’s body. “You haven’t a smell I know…”

“I’m Toxtricity! I hatched in Kanto but other Pokémon of my kind live in a faraway region named Galar! I explored it with my Trainer Hope for the first time in these nearly last two months!”

“I heard music before… can you play music?”, Melmetal asked with honest curiosity.

“I’m glad you ask because the answer is yes!! Have a song for you!”, he happily told them as he played [other music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ1fO6BWV7Q).

“Wow! That’s an impressive skill there!”, Rowlet complimented.

“You’ve got good taste, Toxtricity!!”, Lycanroc joyfully added.

“That’s music from our land, alright!”, Incineroar affirmed with a nod.

“I can’t play music like that! And you all say I’m the odd one…”, Melmetal observed with a clear tone of joke.

The five Pokémon were laughing. It was great to see Toxtricity getting easily along with everyone. I didn’t want to interrupt, but the Punk Pokémon called me: “Little big sister! Won’t you talk with Ash’s Pokémon? They’re cool dudes!”

“ _Ah!_ S-Sure! Uhm… Alola, everyone! I’m Litten, Hope’s first partner! Hope has shown me all the League battles that Ash did with each of you a few days after I had casually met Ash for the first time, because I didn’t know him. And I would need to spend a whole day to comment everything you guys did but you were all fabulous! And, and!... _Incineroar!!_ I’m a big _big_ fan of you!! I hatched at Blush Mountain, at Ula’ula Island! The only time I’ve seen a Pokémon of my kind was Professor Kukui’s Incineroar! But I was marveled with your way to battle as a Torracat! By this point I would be probably an Incineroar but… I like to be a Litten and to show other Pokémon and Trainers that it’s possible to win without evolving! You showed that too in the entire tournament! You even defeated the Masked Royal’s Incineroar who are also long-time idols of ours!! You’ve inspired my Trainer to not give up in walking again and so did you inspire me as well to be more confident about myself, even with a prominent fang that limits me in biting moves! Thank you!!”

The four Pokémon exchanged looks and smiled. Rowlet approached me and gave a quick look to Hope before asking me a question.

“If I understood well, your Trainer couldn’t walk before?”

“I don’t remember much from my early days upon hatching from my egg, except that I’ve always met my Trainer on a wheelchair.”, Toxtricity explained them. “But thanks to Ash, Goh, Chloe and all the Pokémon they have, Hope was very motivated to overcome her problem and managed to recover!”

“That’s great!! Who would wonder we could give an impact on a child and her Litten?”, Lycanroc noted in delight.

“I didn’t think we were being seen from such faraway places!”

“Television was recording everything.”, Incineroar explained to Melmetal and to my surprise, _he picked me up!!_

“ _I-Incineroar?!_ ”, I nervously asked in between those large clawed hands.

The Heel Pokémon didn’t respond right away. He spent a moment looking to my eyes, I even blushed. I have great respect for this Pokémon. Not only because he’s one of the strongest Pokémon of the Alola region but because how what he managed to prove in those videos I’ve seen before. He let out a laughter and I tilted my head in confusion.

“You’re interesting… I can feel that you hide a great potential inside that body. You’re a very cute Litten too! I’m not forcing you to evolve, that’s your choice. But I think if you did you could give a really good fight against me. Who knows? Maybe you would be stronger than my rival Incineroar from Professor Kukui!”

“ _W-Wow! You think so?_ ”, I asked while blushing a lot with Incineroar’s compliments. He not only said I was cute but that I also hide potential! It’s an honour to hear this feedback from the strongest Incineroar of Alola!

“ _If I were you, I would watch out._ ”

 _Huh?_ What did Raboot mean with this? All the Pokémon’s attentions had turned to the Rabbit Pokémon who had approached us and sent out a defying glare to Ash’s Incineroar. Sobble was left nearby Goh and looked worried. Pikachu was still on Hope’s hands and leaning to our direction, paying attention to what was happening. Incineroar lifted an eyebrow and neutrally asked him:

“What’s your problem?”

“ _I know what you’re doing._ I’m keeping my eyes on you. Just because you’re a regional Champion it doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you.”

“ _Raboot?!_ ”, I asked, bothered with his unusual voice tone. Incineroar didn’t like it either and lifted more his voice.

“ _Did you smell a Salandit’s smog or what?..._ You were more friendly yesterday!”

“I think if he did, he wouldn’t be here talking to us…”

“Quiet, Lycanroc! I didn’t ask about your opinion!”

“ _H-Hey!!!_ Don’t talk to me like that, Galarian rodent!”

 _Fantastic, Raboot._ I have no idea what happened with you at this moment but Incineroar and Lycanroc were grumbling to Raboot who frowned coldly to the duo of champions.

“ _Raboot! What are you doing?!_ ”

“ _It’s not your business, Pikachu!!_ ”

“STOP!!”, Toxtricity assertively shouted while stretching his long arms to separate Raboot from the other two. “We’re not here to fight, Raboot!”

“Toxtricity is right! Stop this, Raboot! Incineroar was doing nothing bad!!”, I begged for the Rabbit Pokémon’s reasoning.

“Put Litten down!”

“You’re bothering her! And I’ll only put her down if you ask it nicely!”

“ _PUT-LITTEN-DOWN._ ”

“ _You not only a stubborn Fire-type as you’re deaf!!_ Don’t challenge my patience!”

“You aren’t my Trainer to give me orders!”

Melmetal and Rowlet had moved away, listening awkwardly to the arguing. The Grass Quill Pokémon was hidden inside the Hex Nut friend’s belly, shivering and repeating the words “ _I don’t like this, I don’t like this, I don’t like this…!!_ ”. Lycanroc was a little calmer because of Toxtricity’s call, having retreated a few steps but still perplex about Raboot’s altered behaviour. “I still think he was attacked by a Salandit, their poisonous smog can make one say weird things!”, I heard him talking alone. Toxtricity was clenching his fists and shaking on his spot, upset for being ignored. Several purple and black rings of energy got out from his mouth as he shouted out loud:

“ ** _ENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!!!_** ”

_MY EAAAARS!!! It wasn’t only worse because Incineroar covered my ears! He wasn’t very affected by the noise. The shout was so loud that Raboot was sent to the floor, covering his ears. Melmetal and Rowlet screeched on their side, Pikachu and Lycanroc were yelling on the sand with their paws on their heads as well. Sobble begun to cry. Goh quickly encapsulated him in his Poké Ball in order to prevent more problems because of his ability. The three kids, covering their ears like the others, were extremely bothered with the loud cry._

_“WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOU ALL?!”, Ash asked._

_“Kids?! Is everything ok down there?! I’m trying to put Lei to sleep!!!”_

_“S-Sorry, Professor Burnet!!”_ , the cap-wearing lad immediately apologized with great anxiety to the green-eyed scientist that had opened a window with some annoyance.

 _“_ That was a powerful Snarl move! _”_

“ _Honey!! You’re not helping!!_ ”

“Sorry, sorry, darling!!”, Kukui awkwardly replied to his wife as he scratched his nape and walked closer to us. “Did you hear Professor Burnet?”

“I’m sorry, Professor Kukui!!”, Goh rushed to bow and apologize, embarrassed. “The Pokémon were fine but Raboot must have said something that provoked Ash’s Incineroar and they started to make noise!!”

“It’s me who needs to be sorry! Toxtricity was the one who made this huge sound! _Probably to try to stop the argue!_ ”

Both Hope and Goh were right. The boy’s getting better to interpret the Pokémon’s feelings! Professor Kukui looked to us. Incineroar had placed me on the floor and hmphed to Raboot, who just turned his back looking downcast with a frowning expression. Lycanroc just shook his own head to recover his senses. Rowlet was a little calmer and Melmetal just watched his surroundings in silence. Toxtricity did a crack noise with his neck, quietly looking to the two Pokémon of the argue. Pikachu leaned close to Raboot and unhappily whispered a question:

“ _What was that argue for?!_ ”

“ _I don’t want to talk._ ”

“Whatever it happened earlier it seems that Toxtricity’s Snarl solved the issue. He’s got really strong vocal cords!”

“Thank you, Professor! I taught this move to Toxtricity at a point of my journey thanks to a Technical Machine!”

“And it’s very clever from you to take advantage of his Punk Rock ability!”, the man continued to compliment. “I would love to see what other moves he can do but I believe that if I do it, you’ll miss the Marina’s boat again!”

“Oh, right!! _I almost forgot!!! What time is it?!_ ”, Hope asked to herself while hurryingly verifying the information on her phone. “Good call because we need to go now!”

“Goh? What if we go to Ula’ula Island too? There’s lots of things we can explore!”, Ash suggested with some expectation.

“Why not? We hadn’t decided any destination today so we could go there!”

“You’ll go there too?! Guys, do you mind if I keep you company?! I just need to pass by my grandparents’ house and then I should be free for the remaining day! I would love to show you around!!”

“Sounds good to me! It’s always better to have a local to show us around!”

“I’m sure you already know most of the places I plan to take you both, but they’ll be novelties for Goh!”

“I’ll be interested to know more about your island!”

“Then you three should use Extreme Speed to arrive in time! Don’t forget your belongings inside the house, Hope!”

“Yes, I’ll go there to pick my stuff! Litten! Toxtricity! Let’s go!”

“See you, my dudes!”, my big baby brother waved the other Pokémon goodbye before following Hope.

“It was great to meet you all! Enjoy your sunbathes!”, I added while leaving.

“Take care!”, Lycanroc said on behalf of his group that also waved farewell to us.

“See you later, guys!”, Ash waved to his Alolan Pokémon alongside with Pikachu who had climbed to his shoulders in the meantime.

“We’re off!”, Goh added. Raboot silently followed his Trainer. The Rabbit Pokémon didn’t say anything to the group. I surely needed to have a good talk with him at the boat, I thought to myself.

Hope cautiously opened the main door to pick up her belongings. The boys did the same thing. Professor Burnet was nearby and understood that the Alolan girl had to catch the boat. “You’re leaving to Ula’ula now? It was nice to meet you, Hope! You’ll be always welcomed to our home if you ever need it one day that you’re around in visit to your grandparents!”

“Thank you, Professor Burnet! I appreciate the offer!”

“We’ll follow her today so we’ll probably only return by the evening!”

“Fair enough, Goh. Ula’ula has plenty of wild Pokémon that don’t exist in Melemele Island so it’s going to interest you. Don’t return late!”

“We’ll be back, Professor!”, Ash finished.

“Have fun!”, the green-eyed woman said while smiling and waving to us.

“ _Don’t lose the boat! Hurry! Increase that Speed stat!_ ”, Professor Kukui alerted us from afar of the façade as he also waved with her hand. We sprinted out, but it was really tiring to do it on the sand! I had pity for the boys who volunteered to carry a heavy groceries bag each. Toxtricity ended up dragging up the luggage trolley all over the beach until we reached the firm soil. Didn’t he say before he wanted to stretch his legs? Well, there it was his physical workout!

* * *

There isn’t a direct boat trip from Melemele to Ula’ula at the schedule we ended taking. We had to do a stopover at Heahea City in order to go to Malie City’s Ferry Terminal. The kids were observing the Pokémon on water during the second boat trip, taking photographs with the phones and chatting. Us Pokémon were chilling out in a corner, not very far from our Trainers. Toxtricity’s memory for sounds still surprises me to this day. The very few time we waited at the Marine was enough for my adoptive sibling’s to write down on his mind the music it was being played, and he [repeated it on his chest protrusion the whole trip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdjBgsSKaAk). It was difficult to read through Raboot’s current state of mind. He didn’t talk the whole way since Professor Kukui’s house and it was bothering me. “You’re very talkative.”, I told him dryly. “I see you didn’t miss us at all.”

“Raboot, why were you picking up with Incineroar earlier? You had no issues with him yesterday!”

The Rabbit Pokémon opened an eye a little bit to look to Pikachu who was frowning in intrigue. He didn’t respond, closing the eyes again. Toxtricity silently observed Raboot during his very slow finger play on his chest. I had the feeling that my big baby brother might know more than both Pikachu and I.

“I sometimes don’t understand you…”

“Don’t insist, Pikachu. I won’t force him to talk with us.”, I responded.

“Raboot was jealous about Incineroar.”

Pikachu and I turned our heads to Toxtricity once he commented about it. “ _Jealousy?..._ ”, we asked in choir.

The Fire-type Pokémon immediately got up, visibly bothered.

“Toxtricity!!”

“Dude, it was as clear as the Alolan water we’re surrounded by.”

Raboot was gesticulating in a way I had never seen before, wow… Pikachu tilted his head and awkwardly opined to his friend:

“You know… Incineroar might look very serious but he was pretty cool with all of us during our stay at Alola. He’s a good friend!”

“Are you jealous of him for being the strongest Fire-type of the region? We won’t think you’re less of a friend just because of that!”, I told him.

“ _U-Uh!... R-right. It’s good to know…_ ”, Raboot agreed after some strange stuttering and turning his back to us. _”………………..How was your journey in Galar since our last meeting?_ ”

“Rebellion’s surely a weird phase!...”, I joked about the sudden change of behaviour of Goh’s Pokémon with a giggle. “I can tell what I can remember but I don’t think that twenty minutes are going to be enough!”

Toxtricity gave a more ripped smile after watching Raboot, who knows for what reason. Pikachu seemed to be happier after seeing that the fire rodent was less antipathic, just like me! I talked about a few things that happened to Toxtricity, Thwackey and I, but it was only the tip of the iceberg because the trip ended very quickly!

“Awesome! Malie City!!”, Ash exclaimed in delight upon we exited the Ferry Terminal. Hope’s eyes mirrored a soft feeling of nostalgia, the same thing happened to me. [Toxtricity immediately begun to play the city’s characteristic music.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TQvPZJW_sM) Goh was taking a few photos to the nearby buildings, impressed by the pagoda-style architecture. “I can see why you were saying that Ecruteak City was making you feel like your old home! The houses around here are really similar with the ones of Johto!”, he said.

“The region was an inspiration for the architects of my city!” Hope explained. “And there’s a large Johto community living here as well as from other regions like Kanto for example! That’s one of the reasons why mom wanted to live here after marriage.”

“I see!”

“Do your grandparents live in here?”, Ash asked.

“No, they’re on the city’s outskirts. A little in between Malie and Mount Lanakila. If I want to reach it fast, I should go by taxi. I’m going to call one… I admit I’m a bit tired carrying all these heavy stuff…”

“Oh, we understand! But we should set up a meeting somewhere, no?”

“Goh? Who said you were going to have lunch outside? You’re going to eat at my grandparents!”, she informed while paying for a taxi in her phone app.

“W-What?! But they don’t even know us, Hope!!”

“… Could they cook the same dish that your dad made for us the other time we were in your house?!”

“ _A-Ash!!_ ”

“ _Goh, I’m starving!!_ And Hope’s dad learnt to cook thanks to his parents so it must be the same kind of flavour! Come on!!”

“Relax, Goh!”, Hope laughed after Goh’s notable embarrassment due to his lover’s plead. “My grandparents love to have guests! And I’ve told about you both and Chloe to them! They’ll want to know you personally! And they make Dynamax-sized doses of meals that could feed a full Pokémon party so I’m sure there’s enough for everyone.”

“ _Alright!!_ ”, Ash happily zested. “Less food to waste!!”

Goh sighed, unimpressed about the cap-wearing lad’s simplicity. “Please watch your manners when you’re at their home…”

“The taxi’s about to arrive. I already see it from the end of the avenue! Thank you, Tapu Bulu. I’m really tired of carrying so much heavy stuff… Get ready, boys! Toxtricity, I’ll have to ask you to return to the Ultra Ball for a bit if that’s ok to you.”

“I understand, Hope! We’ll see us again soon!”

Comprehending Toxtricity’s body language, Hope took him inside the spherical object. It would be difficult to fit everyone inside the vehicle! Ash and Goh helped my Trainer to place the bags on the taxi’s trunk and we all entered alongside Pikachu and Raboot. Hope showed the address to the driver and we set off to the destination.

My small sized heart begun to thump furiously the moment the taxi ascended the very high slope road of tar. _We were near. And over two hours late._ I still remembered that mossy stone wall, the aged bleach-purple metal gate and the brown wooden fibers that give body to the building, turning gold color when the sun rays were touching them. I hadn’t noticed everyone was already out of the car with exception of Raboot, who looked very confused after he waved his paw over my eyes. “Litten? Aren’t you going out?”

“Ah! What?!”

“Hope already called for you twice! Goh’s asking about me as well, but I didn’t want to leave before you.”

“ _Oh!!_ S-Sorry about it, I was thinking in something else!! _Ahaha…~_ ”

“It seems that Raboot convinced her to get out of the taxi.”, Ash positively commented this to the group once he saw me jumping to the cracked tar.

“Litten must be nervous.”, my Trainer reacted with a smile on her face. “She doesn’t like much my grandma.”

“ _H-Hold on, Hope! Disliking isn’t the word for this!!_ ”, I immediately reacted to the incorrect statement, but the children ignored my meowing because they had followed Hope towards the gate.

“Why’s that?”

“Well… let’s say that my grandma worries if people don’t eat enough. I hope you guys are hungry, especially you Goh.”

“My breakfast was very light this morning, so I won’t have issues to eat now!”

“Great, then you should be ok!”, Hope assured as she opened the gate from the locker and let all of us enter. We descended the rocky pavement, already with some pebbles missing but never fixed afterwards. Pikachu was looking to the right side that leads to the hut. “That place looks really comfortable!”, he exclaimed enthusiastically. “It’s good for naps in the hot days!”, I explained him. “But Hope’s grandparents like to use it for meals and to receive guests so we’ll probably eat here.”

The main door was on the left, hidden behind an artificial curtain of hibiscus. Hope twisted the door knob and leaned more inside, looking to the left side. “ _Alola!! Grandma? Grandpa? I’m home!!_ ” she called loud. But there was no response. “ _It’s me!! Hope!! I arrived!!!_............ Strange, I hear nothing…”

“Too bad, they aren’t home! Let’s go back to Malie City and have lu-“

“No, Litten! Where are you going?!”, Pikachu asked while pulling a leg of mine to prevent me to run away.

“Nobody’s replying, therefore no one’s at home! We’re just wasting time here!”

“The blinds are lowered. Maybe Litten is right.”, Raboot noted once he looked to the wall on his left. Goh observed this detail as well upon noticing his Pokémon’s fixated eyes on the window object.

“Are you sure your grandparents are here? Everything seems to be closed.”

“It wouldn’t make sense to leave somewhere when I told them I was on my way home. The main door was open as well, I didn’t need the key to enter.

“Did you warn your grandma that you were late? Now that I remember, you were supposed to have gotten the ferry boat of two hours ago.”

Hope arched her back forward and bent her legs while yelping. Some sweat appeared behind her head. “ _I-I… forgot…_ ”, she said with a very beaten voice. Goh and Ash looked to each other with some awkwardness, sighing, not really surprised by Hope’s distraction.

“ _Oh Sweet Soda Pop, she’s doomed when grandma appears…_ ”, I commented to Pikachu and Raboot in a fearful tone and with shrunken pupils.

“If Hope’s grandma is like Delia when Ash doesn’t call her she’ll be scolded for sure…”

“Pikachu, Delia’s very sweet when compared with Grandmother Kani.”

Ash’s attentions were dragged to a shadow he saw disappearing behind the hut, hinting it was going towards the stone wall that marks the house terrain’s perimeter. The cap-wearing boy shook Hope’s shoulder and hurried in alerting her: “ _Hope!! There’s someone over there! He walks weirdly and carries a large bag! I think it’s a man!_ ”

“ _A man?! Don’t tell me it’s a thief!_ ”

The two had the same idea of going to see who was trying to run away. Goh was startled with the sudden race and went after them, with us three Pokémon following. I was ready to roast the rear of whoever was having the unfortunate idea to steal the belongings of Hope’s family… _until I saw who it was. The turquoise Alolan Exeggutor patterns on the blue shirt, the yellow shorts and the black flip-flops were obvious._ “ _GRANDPA?!?!_ ”, Hope interjected loudly upon the same realization as me.

“ _SSSSH!!!!!_ _Hope, not so loud!!!!_ ”

“ _Grandpa?..._ ”, Ash winked confusedly, looking to Hope and her grandfather as he repeated his friend’s question. Goh stopped in the middle of the path, watching what was going on.

“ _A-Are you about to go fishing?! I warned grandma that I was coming for lunch!!_ ”, Hope frowned as she placed her hands over her waist once she realized that the large bag that Ash thought he saw was actually a fishing box. Grandfather Makai was nervously hiding the large dark grey rod behind his back and scratching his head very fast.

“ _F-Fishing?! A-Actually no!!! Haha! I wanted to show my newest Super Rod model and bait collection to my neighbour of the house down the road there! He keeps asking about it for a whole week!!_ ”

Hope wasn’t convinced after the answer. She tried to walk behind him but he turned his body to always face her. We could all see he had a small bucket attached to the opposite face of the fishing box. The red-haired girl couldn’t but she heavily suspected about it thanks to the cast shadow on the dirt.

“And what’s the bucket for?! To _use_ it as a _hat to not catch sun_?! Grandpa, you’re trying to-”

“ ** _MAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!!!_** ”

 _THERE SHE WAS!!!_ Grandmother Kani was shouting on the balcony of the highest floor of the house. Everyone screamed out of startlement, my fur was was all messed up like a Tangela’s skin after my impulsive jump behind Hope’s leg!!

“YOU ESCAPED AGAIN FROM THE WINDOW OF THE FIRST FLOOR TO GO FISHING?! OUR GRANDDAUGHTER SHOULD BE COMING AT ANY MOMENT FOR LUNCH!!”

“ _M-My gorgeous hibiscus!!!_ I wasn’t going to fish right now! I wanted to go quickly to Mele’s house to borrow my gear! He broke his Good Rod!”

“ _You didn’t tell that to me…_ ”, Hope commented with an annoyed face.

“YOU WERE GOING TO TEST THAT EXPENSIVE WAND THAT YOU BOUGHT YESTERDAY IN KONIKONI CITY AND SKIP LUNCH TIME! WE’RE MARRIED FOR OVER 50 YEARS, DON’T MAKE ME A FOOL, MAKAI!!”

Hope’s tanned grandfather looked downcast and kept gathering his hands to beg for his wife’s pardon, constantly asking apologies. His granddaughter rubbed more on the wound by telling him in a false tone of criticism “Fishing is more important than my visit I see. Go fish Wishiwashi then… I don’t forbid you.”

Realizing the Alolan girl’s presence upon leaning over the division’s balustrade, she lifted her unmistakable voice: “ ** _HOOOPE!!_** WHERE WERE YOU IN THESE LATEST TWO HOURS?! THERE WASN’T A SINGLE PHONE CALL TO WARN THAT YOU WERE ARRIVING LATE, MY GIRL! I’M GLAD I DIDN’T ASK YOU FOR FROZEN FOOD OR ELSE WE WOULD ALL STARVE!”

“ _E kala mai i a`u!!!_ S-Sorry grandma!! I completely forgot to warn I lost two ferry boats!!, she quickly apologized to her grandma by bowing over and over.

“YOU’RE REALLY LIKE MY SON AKAMAI WHEN HE HAD YOUR AGE! HE HAD A WATCH, YET HE WAS NEVER ARRIVING IN TIME HOME! YOUR GENERATION HAS GOT A PHONE WITH ALL SORTS OF GADGETS NOW AND EVEN WITH ONE YOU’VE MISSED THE BOATS!”

“Please don’t get upset after Hope!”, Ash defended my Trainer with concern. “She lost one of the ferries because of us! We’re friends from Kanto that have been on visit here in Alola and we didn’t see her for over a month”.

Grandmother Kani toned down her speech and did quick observation to both him, Goh and their Pokémon. The eld woman asked with some surprise: “Hope, you brought guests with you?!”

“Do you remember when you asked who were my friends that helped in my therapy to walk again? It’s two of them! They’re Ash and Goh! I thought they could have lunch with me here!”

“ _Na ko Tapu lokomaikaʻi!_ _!!_ Why didn’t you say it earlier, my dear?! I didn’t want to scare the little boys there! Come in!!”, she happily told us before leaving the balcony. Hope gave a relief sigh, arching her back forward. “I thought the scolding would be worse…”, she confessed.

“You heard your grandma! Let’s go inside! You could have told me earlier who were these two young lads, dear Hope! Hāele pū! Come on!”

The boys got surprised by feeling Grandfather Makai’s hands pushing their backs with an unusual strength for septuagenarian man. They humbly thanked for the warming reception before entering home. Pikachu and Raboot followed them inside. Hope winked to me and asked: “Lets have lunch?”.

“It’s about time!”, I meowed to her while passing the main door with the girl. _I almost passed out with the earlier screaming of Hope’s grandmother…_

Hope’s grandparents gave a strong and emotional hug upon seeing closer their walking granddaughter, relieved that she could overcome the problem. They were enchanted to see the boys and have greeted them properly, asking some questions to them. The following hour was devoted in a collective help with lunch cooking and make up the table on the hut, because Hope had informed that she had five Pokémon to feed. Yes! The same number of fingers of a human hand! Our family has grown even further during our remaining Galarian journey! This had immediately ringed the bells of curiosity of the boyfriends, who were extremely curious to know who which Pokémon their red-haired friend had caught and to hear updates about Hope’s experience on the region. She wanted to tell everything once everyone was on table since her grandparents were also waiting for adventure updates since two weeks.

Toxtricity was sent out in the meantime alongside Thwackey as they were no strangers to Hope’s grandparents from the webcam calls. They were satisfied to see them in real for the first time! The couple and their Pokémon were happy to see the simian buddy again since our Motostoke farewell. And they could tell by his physical appearance that he looked bulkier and more disciplined _. But juuuust a little!_ The object sound test quirk is still there. I knew that he would love to use Grandma Kani’s iron pot collection as an improvised drum kit, haha! The gray-haired woman couldn’t stay mad after him and that surprised me! She laughed after the play, and kindly asked to help carrying objects instead of doing that cacophony. The Kantonian couple wanted to give a hand but Hope’s family insisted they would go to the hut and wait instead. They didn’t want to, until the moment that Ash’s acute senses of smelling begun to surface and wanting to peek the oven. Goh had to drag him outside to make sure he would stay quiet! And Thwackey as well because he kept climbing the walls to have a better look to the lunch that was being made! Hope was thankful for Goh’s attention to that! Grandfather Makai insisted to the girl to join her friends at the hut sometime after, because he would help out with the rest. That was the best time for her to present her newest buddies!

“Thank you for your patience, boys! Lunch is almost ready; we just need to wait a little more! I think I’m going to call my other Pokémon in the meantime!”

“You’ll bring them out?! Alright!!”, Ash excitingly asked while lifting himself from the chair.

“Oooh!! What did you catch in Galar?!”, Goh asked with a wide smile on his face, already picking up his Rotom Phone just in case.

“OK, guys! You can come out!”, Hope said while throwing her Level and Dive Balls to reveal our newest adoptive brothers.

“Whoa!!!”, Ash and Goh exclaimed in marvel.

“One of them is a Golduck!!”, Goh immediately pointed out.

“So cool!!”, Ash added.

Goh pointed the Rotom Phone to the large blue water bird and the device started to dictate out loud the following information:

_“Golduck! The Duck Pokémon! A Water type! Its webbed hands and feet make it a proficient swimmer. May be seen swimming elegantly at dusk in places like lakes.”_

“And who’s that one? I never saw it before!”

“Me neither! Rotom, who’s that Pokémon?”

Rotom responded to Goh’s request:

_“Obstagoon! The Blocking Pokémon! Dark and Normal type and the evolved form of Galarian Linoone! Its voice is staggering in volume. Obstagoon has a tendency to take on a threatening posture and shout—this move is known as Obstruct.”_

“Linoone can evolve in Galar? I had no idea about it!!”, Ash happily commented.

Hope turned to the Pokémon and smiled to both of them. “We’re in Alola region, guys! My birthland that I’ve shown you in photographs! This is my grandparents home!”

The large monochromatic Pokémon looked around with excitement. That enthusiasm had quickly disappeared the moment he saw the boys, giving place to a great nervousness. This wasn’t the sort of behaviour the duo was expecting from a Pokémon that was taller than Hope herself and threatening by nature. Pikachu and Raboot were wondering as well.

“ _Obstagoon…?_ ”, asked Ash in a slight frown.

“ _N-No!!..._ ”, Obstagoon muttered, retracting his arms and stepping backwards.

“Obstagoon! It’s alright, they’re my friends!”, Hope tried to calm him down.

“They’re good people!”, Pikachu told him, trying to help out.

“Yeah, bro! They’re cool kids!!”, Thwackey assured him. “I’ve met them before!”

“You can trust them!”, Toxtricity said.

“They’re right in what they say, Obstagoon!!”, I told him.

The Pokémon kept frozen in place. He was shaking violently. Bothered by this, Ash got up and approached the nervous Obstagoon. Alerted by the cap-wearing lad’s proximity, he crossed his forearms by reflex and shouted a loud “ ** _DON’T TOUCH ME!!!_** ” that made the whole field vibrate. Everyone was surprised about the sudden land shake caused by his voice, almost as powerful as Toxtricity’s. Hope was getting embarrassed by the erratic state of the Dark-type so she lifted her voice and begged:

“ _OBSTAGOON!_ Listen to me, please!!!! Ash and Goh are my friends! They won’t harm you!!”

“ _S-Stay away!!!_ ”

Goh frowned in worry alongside Ash. Hope sighed in disappointment and rushed to apologize them:

“ _I’m so sorry about this, guys!_ I thought he had overcome his fears but… _I was wrong_.”

“Overcome? Did something happen to Obstagoon?”, the boy of the prominent eyelashes had asked. Hope nodded in affirmation.

“I found Obstagoon, when he still was a Linoone, a day after our last meeting. I was told by locals that the best way to go to Stow-on-Side was to pass by the riverbank that flows throughout Motostoke and cross the Wild Area. And during that walk, I got alarmed by unusual noises that sounded like whimpers. Even Toxtricity was staring to the source. When I got closer, that’s when I saw a Trainer giving a kick to his Linoone, exalted and shouting after him. _Saying horrible things…_ ”

The boys eyebrows lifted, their faces expressed shock. Hope continued, while gently petting Obstagoon’s left arm.

“Apparently, he had lost against Kabu, from what I could understand from the complaints. And I was telling him how his other Pokémon were much better than him and more serious as well. I obviously couldn’t stay there seeing all that happening, Linoone was suffering and had tears running down his eyes. I told that guy to stop immediately but he got even madder to the point of saying that no one was giving him orders, even less if it was a girl. You guys don’t imagine the effort I did to not pull out a Masked Royal move right there. I pushed him to the brick wall that was near us and glared to his eyes to make him realize I wasn’t fooling around. I remember what I’ve told him at the moment: “ _You’re going to act like a decent Trainer and take your Pokémon to the Pokémon Center. Or else you’ll be in trouble.”._ He got surprised by my attitude, but he wasn’t willing to do a thing with Linoone. _“What do you know about being a Trainer?! The Pokémon’s mine and I do whatever I want to with it! I go to a Pokémon Center when I think it needs to be treated, especially after a Pokémon wins a battle! But I’m not healing this Linoone, he did everything wrong and embarrassed me in front of friends who were watching me battling! I can’t look to their faces anymore and it’s all this creature’s fault!!”_ , he told me.”

“That’s horrible!!... _How can one be so mean?!_ ”, Goh vented out, incapable to understand a situation like this. Ash frowned silently, clenching his hands. He wanted Hope to finish explaining the story.

“If there’s something I’ve learnt even before becoming a Pokémon Trainer, was that Pokémon don’t work alone. They need their Trainer’s guidance too. Strength alone means nothing in the battlefield. Litten taught me this when I helped her to overcome her fang problem. If the Trainer’s not competent, not even the strongest Pokémon can win. Being a Trainer is to respect your Pokémon and treat it like a friend, learning to trust and to do teamwork. And if one can’t understand simple things as this, they aren’t better than the Pokémon. And I told all of this to the guy. Linoone’s Trainer pushed me and defied me to do a Triple Battle with his other Pokémon he had. It was actually easy for Litten, Toxtricity and Thwackey. I showed him my medallion with my three badges afterwards, since before I hadn’t the opportunity to explain I had faced Kabu. He was so upset that he lost that he threw Linoone’s Poké Ball on the river and raced out after returning his other fainted Pokémon. He left Linoone behind and right in front of my eyes!! Toxtricity used a Thunder move that zapped the fleeing Trainer on distance. He was as upset as me for abandoning the wounded Pokémon. As soon as the guy disappeared, I picked up some Super Potions I had to try to heal his wounds, but he was in really bad condition. I had to return to Motostoke’s central Pokémon Center to heal him. Thankfully Nurse Joy could rescue him, she told me the Super Potions made the difference to not worsen the state Linoone was. And he cried the moment he saw me after the discharge, licking my arms! I ended catching him with a Level Ball I was given away once by the Ball Guy.”

“It’s great you were there to rescue Linoone! _Poor him…_ He still must be traumatized after people…”

“He is although he had an improvement, especially after evolving in one Gym Challenge at evening. I noticed he had great anxiety episodes when I was challenging other male Trainers, but it wasn’t happening to all of them… I still didn’t figure out why exactly…”

Goh placed a finger over his upper lip with his slightly clenched hand and tried to think. “Some Pokémon are said to have exceptional visual memory. Maybe your Obstagoon gets triggered by something those Trainers were wearing that his original Trainer had as well?”

Hope reflected about Goh’s question, making an effort to remember something in common about those male humans. That’s something we Pokémon would like to understand as well because Obstagoon never openly explained us why he reacted so badly after some Trainers we’ve faced. So, I took the initiative to ask:

“Obstagoon, I know you hate to talk about this but we want to help you! Why were you sometimes panicking after some Trainers we’ve faced? We know for certain you don’t react like that with girls, but it doesn’t happen with every boy of Hope’s age! Do they wear something that makes you remember about your original Trainer?”

“ _T-T-… T-There’s!!! S-… Don’t beat me up!!!_ ”, he mumbled. He was breathing loudly.

“Take your time, dude!! Is it the colour?”, Toxtricity asked. Obstagoon denied with the head.

“OK, it’s not the colour… What about the face? Maybe Ash has got similar eyebrows or something?”

“ _C-Ca-…!!”,_ he said in stuttering, but also aggressively denying with his head to Thwackey’s assumption.

Raboot decided to go behind Goh’s legs and push him towards Obstagoon. “Raboot?”, the sweatshirt child asked. Seconds after he let out a quick gasp of realization. He had understood what his Pokémon wanted to try out. Goh walked cautiously towards Hope’s nervous monochromatic buddy. She observed silently, giving a step back. Once the lad placed his open left palm over his right forearm, Obstagoon peeked with his red angular eye and saw that the blue-eyes boy was touching him. After a moment of brief silence and him and Goh being the center of attentions, us Pokémon could hear the Blocking Pokémon’s whisper “ _H-he’s ok…_ ” as he relaxed his arms.

“Relax, I’m Hope’s friend.”, Goh serenely told him with a smile, being smiled back. Obstagoon then looked to our Trainer and she commented:

“It seems you’re fine to him. Did you react earlier in other way because of Ash?”

“Obstagoon, we’re all good friends! I wouldn’t h-“

“ ** _NO!!!_** ”, he shouted to Ash upon visual contact, tensing his crossed arms again on his chest. The boy stopped to walk and was greatly confused.

“ _B-But why?!_ ”, questioned Hope with a sweat drop running down her temple.

“Ash could have something in common with the other Trainer! Do you remember anything, Hope?!”

“I wished I could, Goh! Really! Ash is nothing like the guy, physically speaking!”

Pikachu felt quite bothered by this situation. He approached Obstagoon and tried to bring him down to reasoning. “Obstagoon! Ash is one of the kindest humans I’ve ever met!! He saved me from a flock of Spearow back when we met each other!”

The human children continued to watch the reluctant Blocking Pokémon refusing to listen to what Pikachu was saying, not knowing the meaning of each “Pika” word he cried loudly. Somehow, Ash seemed to be understanding the context. “Pikachu…”, he mumbled in wonder. The blue-coated boy’s expression turned to a more serious one seconds later, deciding to prudently walk closer to the large Pokémon. Hope and Goh gave a faint gasp in surprise by the attitude, worried about the possible consequences. 

“Ash, be careful! Obstagoon has got some strength!”

“I’ll be fine, Hope! I’ve dealt before with other Pokémon that distrust humans.”

Goh grabbed Ash’s wrist, frowning with concern. Ash just smiled and winked to his boyfriend as he quickly caressed over Goh’s grappling hand. He was a bit disarmed with the action, letting the hazel-coloured eyes youngster getting near Obstagoon. Hope went side to Goh, watching the scenario with apprehension and discretely taking off the Pokémon’s Level Ball out of her pocket. I don’t blame Hope for doing this. The slender boy noticed this detail, and Hope firmly explained him by whispering, without removing her eyes out of Obstagoon: “ _This wasn’t happening for over two weeks at least. But there were male Trainers that he almost attacked to the point of disobeying my instructions. It was more frequent as a Linoone but it happened other times even after evolving... I don’t want Ash to be wounded._ ”

Goh got even more tense upon listening to Hope’s reason for holding the spherical object.

“It would be a shame if we couldn’t befriend, you know? You look like an amazing and strong Pokém-“

“ ** _GO AWAY!!_** ”, the Pokémon yelled out of fear as he used his Night Slash move to project Ash away. That crazy kid endured the hit by taking it! “ASH!!”, Hope and Goh shouted in affliction. The Alolan Champion was on the floor. He coughed bits of dirt he got once its dust lifted upon the fall. “Obstagoon, that’s a really strong Night Slash!”, he noted with a natural smile on his face before getting up. but he got up right after, pulling a smile on his face. “I’m sure Hope helped you to learn it!”

Everyone around were amazed at the calmness that the villager of Pallet conveyed. Myself included. The Trainers that were almost attacked by Obstagoon’s berserk mode were frightened to death when they had the bad luck of triggering the anxious Pokémon. But this raven-haired lad? It seems nothing affects him! It was incredible to observe this.

Ash continued to walk. Obstagoon was greatly confused. The boy happily commented: “Farfetch’d would like to train with you for sure! He’s been practicing his Night Slash move a lot!”

“ ** _!!!!!!!!!... DON’T COME CLOSER!!!!_** ”

Obstagoon reattempted to defend himself by using Shadow Claw. Ash endured that hit as well! His arm got slightly wounded by trying to protect himself from the impact but he didn’t care about it. “Was that a Shadow Claw? It was really awesome, you know?”, the lightning-marked cheeks lad complimented!

“ _W-Why?!... Why don’t you run away?!?!_ ”, the Dark-type asked in perplexity about Ash not showing a single sign of intimidation. The Pokémon used his signature move Obstruct as a last resource.

“You know what I think, Obstagoon? After seeing all that amazing strength and moves you know, I understand even less why would you be scared about me or any other kind of people. You’re really strong! Have you thought that’s thanks to Hope’s help? She made you stronger! You even evolved! So, you should use those capabilities to become more confident about yourself!”

There was a cutting-edge silence the moment that Ash touched Obstagoon’s arm with his palm. The Obstruct move repelled the hand touch like a strong push, making Ash’s cap fall to the ground. Pikachu went to pick it up quick and put on his head. Obstagoon was about to counter with an Hyper Voice but he stopped immediately at the instant their visual contact was retaken. He blinked quickly and took a normal body position. Ash hummed confusedly. Goh gasped loudly in sort of an eureka moment and exclaimed to everyone: “Ash!! Obstagoon’s trigger is boys wearing a cap!”

“The cap?...”, Ash asked while groping his hair, exposed to everything now.

“Of course!!!...”, Hope loudly agreed with Goh after finger snapping. “Yes!! The guy wore a cap in that day! It was the same style! And now that I’m reminding about other times he went out of control with other boys, they all wore sporty caps! I finally understand the reason!!”

“ _Then it’s better he never meets Leon…!_ ”, Goh commented with an awkward giggle.

“So you were getting anxious because of boys wearing caps, Obstagoon?”, I sincerely asked this to the Blocking Pokémon, who timidly nodded with his arched neck.

“… _He always wore one…_ He sometimes slapped me with It when I was doing mistakes on trainings… or even after losing battles. But in the day Hope appeared, he was never that mad after me before… _I thought I-... I would…!!”_

Us Pokémon already knew more than Hope thanks to our talks that he was mistreated by his original Trainer other times even before our meeting. This was the first time he openly talked about the reason of panicking in some battles he was sent out. Curiously, this trigger wasn’t happening on Hope when she was wearing her cap. The hazel-coloured eyes youngster pet Obstagoon’s relaxed arm and sincerely grinned.

“It’s all cool, Obstagoon! You know what? I won’t be wearing my cap while you’re around if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I hope you understand one day that you shouldn’t fear boys wearing caps. They should fear you instead!”

The Pokémon didn’t say a word for the following seconds. But I’ve noticed that Ash’s honesty had reached his heart because his eye pupils had dilatated. He looked to Pikachu and went to his front, pointing to the cap with his claw. “Do you want it…?”, Pikachu calmly asked and he handed over after Obstagoon’s nod. Our monochromatic brother stared to the red and white hat for a while. We Pokémon and children exchanged looks. Something was going to happen for sure. The suspense ended when the tongue-sticking Pokémon returned to Ash’s side and placed the cap back to its owner’s head. His arms were shaking, but he stood firm on his spot, observing Ash with the hat on. The boy lifted his eyebrows, surprised by Obstagoon’s action. “I’m sorry, Ash…” he mumbled, ending pulling out a humble smile that made Ash laugh in delight and petting again the Pokémon’s arm. Hope, Thwackey, Toxtricity and I were particularly astonished. My jaw was dropped! Pikachu gave out an ultra wide smile out of excitement about the Pokémon’s will to improve his insecurity and give a good tackle to his fear once and for all. Raboot nodded in satisfaction. Goh’s eyes had a discreet extra brightness, sketching a smile on his lips.

“ _Incredible…_ ”, Hope complimented while saving back the Level Ball. The Alolan girl turned her head to Goh and told him with a wink: “I understand more and more why you let your heart be conquered, Goh.”. Her friend’s cheeks turned as red as the shades that glow on his charcoal hair, turning his face away. Hope reacted with a subtle giggle. Goh’s face had turned to the direction of Hope’s Golduck, that hadn’t shown any interaction since he was sent out. He had leaned his back on the hut’s corner with his arms and legs crossed while looking to the thick tree tops further in the landscape. Having this in mind, Goh pointed out to the red-haired girl and to Ash:

“Your Golduck isn’t near us?”

“Oh!...”, Hope exclaimed after looking to the Water type. “He’s like this since I’ve caught him.”, she added with constraint.

“Is that so? How did you find him?”

Before Hope could respond to Ash’s question, we heard the oven’s timer ring. _Lunch was ready._ Our heads turned at the same time like a pack of Watchog keeping their ears open to a possible predator approach! Golduck just closed his eyes. Grandmother Kani leaned over the window seconds later. “OK, children! Get ready to sit down because lunch is ready!”, she said. Ash and Hope almost blinded us all with their starry flashing eyes the moment the eld woman brought the main dish that had a delicious tropical fruit dressing! “Do you mind if I explain you on table? My grandparents still don’t know Golduck!”, our Trainer asked while not removing her eyes on the glass tray that her grandmother was showing. “Not at all for me, let’s go to the table!”, Ash responded in a similar way. Goh smiled humbly. “ _What a duo…_ ”, I heard him awkwardly opining low to himself. “Sobble, Pyukumuku, Exeggutor! Let’s eat!”, he said out loud while bringing out the corresponding Pokémon out of the spherical objects. It seems like Goh had novelties for us because there’s new company!

“Oh yeah! It’s better I call the others too! Lets go!!”, Ash exclaimed while throwing the Poké Balls of Dragonite, Gengar, Riolu and Farfetch’d. I was really happy to see them again and both Toxtricity and Thwackey shared the same spirit!

At the same time that humans were being served on the hut’s table, grandfather Makai showed us Pokémon that we were going to get a different meal that was a good alternative for us, equally packed with nutrients! Thwackey couldn’t wait to dive his hands on the cup! I love Hope’s grandparents food but it can let you truly bloated if you aren’t ready to digest all the feast they prepare to you! At least everyone was enjoying it. We had the opportunity to talk again with the other Pokémon of Ash. They were glad to see us again as well and were curious about the two newest members of our _Poké-Ohana_. Most of the group had to explain to Sobble, the recently caught Pyukumuku and Exeggutor, and Ash’s Pokémon the story about Obstagoon. The timid reptile felt an immediate sympathy towards my red-eyed brother, who pat his foot. “It must have been so difficult for you before… But I can ensure you that neither Ash or Goh are mean! I was very scared of humans before, but I’ve been learning how to trust them more! You can overcome that fear, just don’t give up and be believe in you!”

“Thank you so much, Sobble!! You’re so kind with me!!”, Obstagoon compassionately thanked while giving a very light pet with his large clawed paw. The scene itself was adorable.

“I didn’t think that Obstagoon would befriend with Sobble so quickly!”, I said.

“They have a lot in common, actually.”, Raboot noted after munching a piece of fruit in between the ration. “I’m very happy that Sobble is warming up more to other Pokémon too.”

“That’s really nice to know!”

“Poor Obstagoon!!!”, Dragonite exclaimed after hugging tightly to the Blocking Pokémon’s body, surprising him. “But it’s alright now! We’re all friends!!”

Sobble wasn’t the only one wanting to have a word with Obstagoon. Gengar dropped he food on his cup to float near him. He firmly clenched his hands in front of his body saying this to the Blocking Pokémon:

“Obstagoon, I know what you feel! I had other Trainer before I met Ash. He abandoned me three years ago in Cerise Laboratory, before it was even a laboratory! I was so mad that I begun haunting the building to every human presence I felt. I couldn’t trust humans either. But being with Ash, it made me like them again! Humans aren’t equal! And they can be fun if you know who can you trust! So, forget about the past! Focus on the present time! Hope’s a cool kid too, so I’m sure she’ll never mistreat you!”

“Thank you, Gengar!... I had forgotten what fun was the day after I got caught by my original Trainer. I had recently evolved to Linoone the day we met each other. His personality was nothing like the first impression I got. But Hope… the girl’s totally different. And for the better! I just regret to make her embarrassed in those times I had my moments of anxiety. _I still had the old memories very present…_ _But I wasn’t capable to tell anyone it was because of seeing caps on human boys… I’m sorry, guys._ ”

“It’s alright, bro!”, Thwackey assured. Toxtricity and I nodded.

“We’re relieved to know that you’re beginning to work up on that fear! Ash will be a good help in this as he wears caps almost all times!”, Toxtricity added.

“You can count on us to help you out, Obstagoon!”, Pikachu told him while holding his food.

“I can help too.”, Raboot affirmed.

“You guys are all so cool! I’m going to get better; you can be sure of it!”

“I read your aura, and your soul shows potential to be a determined Pokémon. It’s hidden, I had to look for it for some time but it’s there! We can help you out with training!”, Riolu pointed out with optimism.

“You know Night Slash, right big guy?”, Farfetch’d asked, while picking up his leek and pointing it at Obstagoon. “Then we should battle sometime. I’m practicing the same move to get better at it. I’m interested to see how you do it.”

“That’s a deal! If Hope battles with Ash, I want to battle you! Night Slash’s my best move!”

“I thought your best move was Obstruct.”, I questioned with a playful smirk.

“Litten! I know I defend myself a bit too much but I can attack too!!!”

“Yes, yes! I was joking with you! Obstagoon’s pretty timid by nature, but he was the star in our fourth Gym Challenge!”

“I was still a Linoone back then but now I could do even better!”, giggled a flattered Obstagoon. “Hope helped me a lot with the things she told me to do!”

Seeing Obstagoon being well received by all the other Pokémon made me happy. He was much more relaxed now after talking to the others. Golduck was calmly eating his ration on his corner. I wanted him to interact with the others so I leaned my head closer and asked “Is it good, Golduck? You’re eating very slowly.”.

“You should chew well the food. Not swallow it entirely. It can make you sick otherwise.”

Everyone looked to the blue Pokémon eating one bit at a time. I could see by the other group’s faces that they were tempted to start a talk. But those questions would soon be answered by Hope, because just like Ash’s and Goh’s Pokémon, our Trainer’s grandparents were still unaware about Golduck’s story. I had heard the earlier human interaction at the same time us Pokémon were talking. Goh was overwhelmed by the amount of food on his plate. “ _I’m only going to finish to eat in sunset at this rate!..._ ”, I heard him whispering with a hint of slight panic, _hahahaha!_ And the best thing was right next, when Ash was asking if he could have more than what Grandmother Kani was putting over the plate, getting an energic thumbs up from Hope for his bravery! The request sounded like music to the grey-haired woman’s ears! “Eat as much as you want, Ash! I don’t want you to tell others you’ve passed hunger!”, she cheerfully said! This was the opportunity for Hope’s grandparents to talk with the pair of Research Fellows that Hope had told them about so many times in these latest months.

“So, you’re the good Kantonian boys that helped our granddaughter walk again! Thank you so much! Welina mai e Alola! Welcome to Alola! _Haha_!! I’m Makai and my wife’s called Kani. It’s a pleasure to meet you both! I’m so glad she made good friends after moving to Vermilion City!”

“Likewise! My husband and I were worried about Hope when she moved to Kanto with her parents, fearing she couldn’t adapt herself to the urban life.”

“Grandmaaaa!!”, Hope called out with some annoyance, blushing out of awkwardness. “I told you back then I would be alright!”

“Dear Hope, you know very well I’ve never left these islands but life outside Alola is very different!”

“It’s different but seeing how things can be so different things out there in other regions is one of the most exciting things when I travel over the world!”, Ash joyfully explained to the old adults. “I’ve told to Goh, to Hope and to other people as well but something I love in Alola region is how pretty is the sea! So blue, so clean!! And there’s lots of different Pokémon that live here that don’t exist in Kanto!”

“This little boy knows what he’s talking about! Haha!!”, Grandfather Makai affirmed in approval while winking and shaking his pointed index finger. “I was a teenager when I’ve traveled to Kanto region for the first time. I went in an old ship and it took two weeks to arrive! I remember seeing a large Wailord pod at one full moon evening. I wished I had a camera back then. And when guess where I embarked? Vermilion’s port. The city hadn’t as many technology and shops as they show on media nowadays! But I could feel that lifestyle was very different from here. People were always in a hurry, and I got some weird looks sometimes!”

“If I saw a tanned man wandering around the city in the middle of Autumn with only shorts and flipflops I wouldn’t stop looking at him either, Makai!”

Ash and Goh had drops of sweat running down their temples when they witnessed the couple arguing. They preferred to continue to eat, although Ash was doing it more quickly than his special one. Hope giggled after listening to her grandmother’s statement and seeing her grandfather playfully sticking out his tongue with a subtle blushing. “The only place I would go in swimsuit, would be at the beach, grandpa! Sadly because of the bicycle accident I didn’t have the opportunity to go for a swim on the beaches of the region.”

“You need to catch up on that when you return home, Hope! I’m thinking to go fish at the Secluded Shore once I’m done with lunch. The weather is telling me today’s the day!”

“You’re going to the Secluded Shore?! I miss that place!!”, the red-eyed girl exclaimed while leaning forward on table and holding tight her fork.

“What’s in there?”, Ash asked, unaware of the place.

“It’s the best Ula’ula beach to practice Mantine Surfing!”

“ _Oh!!!_ Are you going to do Mantine Surfing, Hope?!”

“I would love to!! But… at the same time I want to help you out on your research duty! You guys told me in the Ferry that you were only staying two days more and it would be a shame to miss a good opportunity to catch rare species that are native from Alola. I think I should leave sport for other time I see my grandparents!”

“It’s true we came here in purpose to catch Alolan Pokémon but I’m happy to have already caught two of them yesterday!”, Goh informed as he pointed to the corresponding Pokémon that were eating nearby and talking to some of my friends.

“Wooow!!”, Hope exclaimed in excitement. “I only saw them now!!”

“Ah! A Pyukumuku and an Exeggutor? We have a little bit too much of Pyukumuku here but an Exeggutor is a really good catch!”, Grandmother Kani happily complimented to Goh.

“Thank you! It wasn’t hard!”

“Grandma is right! Pyukumuku are easily findable on beaches. Now Exeggutor… As much as they’re generally calm, they can be dangerous when outraged!”, Hope observed this to her blue-eyed friend, satisfied to see the Pokémon from her seat. “Did you weaken them first before catching them?”

“Only for Exeggutor! I didn’t need to weaken Pyukumuku.”

“… But Raboot was the weakened one instead. That punch seemed to have hurt him a bit…”, awkwardly noted Ash in between giggles while showing his white teeth, reminding about the situation that I wasn’t even aware about. The Rabbit Pokémon had turned his face away out of embarrassment the moment I looked him.

“Wait, don’t tell me that Raboot stepped Pyukumuku when you found it…!”

“He did, Hope. And it used its internal organs to punch him…”, Goh confirmed to Hope. _It was true!!! Hahahahaha!_ I wheezed on my spot and I think Raboot had turned colour at that moment. His ears were becoming red!  
  


Hope gave a burst of laughter after listening to this and looking to Raboot with some pity. “Raboot, I’m sorry to tell you but any Pokémon in Alola knows that you should never touch a Pyukumuku!”

“ _I confirm this!!!! Hihihihihi…!!!!”,_ I told him on my spot.

“I learnt about this because of my last stay in here but Raboot, Rotom was explaining this to us yesterday and yet you decided to press Pyukumuku with your foot!”, Pikachu reminded him. Sobble nodded with his head.

“I didn’t like that!”, the Sea Cucumber Pokémon reinforced this.

“ _I already told you I was sorry! I had never seen a Pokémon like you before!_ ”

“What a shame I didn’t watch the punch.”

“ _Hush, Gengar!!_ ”

We laughed after Raboot’s evident awkwardness about the entire situation. The tall Exeggutor bent down near the Galarian roedent and calmly said: “I had never seen a Pokémon like you before!! Me neither! Never! You’re interesting! Interesting! Interesting!”

The fire-type sighed. He really wanted to stop to be the center of attentions, poor him! Even the humans understood it and moved on.

“What do you want to catch?”

“A Grubbin and an Alolan Dugtrio would be great! I saw these two yesterday but I didn’t manage to get them.”

Hope whistled and shook her hand after listening to this. “Goh, good luck with those! They both hide quick on the ground! They rarely interact with people.”

“ _We noticed…_ ”

“Wait, Goh! An Alolan Dugtrio? I didn’t see it!”, Ash exclaimed in amazement.

“It’s the reason why I disappeared for a bit in the forest yesterday. Lana found me and took to the Pokémon School, I was really lucky she was around when I fell on water!”

“I was worried, Goh! I couldn’t find you anywhere I was checking!”

“I’m sorry about it!... _I get too carried away when I’m trying to catch a Pokémon… Haha~!_ ”

“You two really love Pokémon, don’t you?”, Grandfather Makai laughed in delight. “It’s a pity you’re around for so much few time. It’s impossible to show Ula’ula in just two days! But I think you should go to the Secluded Shore with me. There are a lot of Water-type Pokémon that appear on the coast. I’m sure there’s sealife here that doesn’t exist in Vermilion’s waters!”

“Is it ok to go with you? I would love to!”, the charcoal-haired boy asked with enthusiasm.

“I go where you go, Goh! So I’m in!”, Ash happily expressed to agree with his special one.

“Yes!!! Ula’ula Beach waves, get ready!!!”

“Not before you finish your plate, Hope! I still have your swimsuits on the guestroom’s drawer. Don’t forget your sunscreen before leaving!”

“Sure, sure, grandma! Don’t worry about it!”

“Are you four planning to stay there the whole day? Makai, I was thinking in dining outside at Malie’s Kālā Kālā Restaurant us all. You know that If we go before sunset it’s much easier to have a table for us. And we could take Ash and Goh to the Garden and show the city around.”

“I love the idea, grandma! Is it ok for you, guys? That restaurant has got really awesome food, I’m sure you’ll love it, Ash!”

“You know I’m not picky in where to eat!”, Ash winked to her with his huge white smile.

“It’s not better than the food I make but it’s still good.”, Grandmother Kani playfully said this to the Kantonian boys. “I hope you’re liking my plate!”

“I love it, miss Kani! Hope’s father has cooked for us once and the flavour is very similar!”

“I’m glad my son learnt to cook after so many years running away from the kitchen’s window to go to the beach!”, the old woman joked in response to what Ash had told her. “And you, Goh? Is it tasting good for you?”

“It’s really delicious! Thank you for the meal!! But… _it’s being difficult to eat it all…_ ”, the grey sweatshirt lad timidly admitted this to Hope’s grandmother.

“… _difficult to eat?_...”

 _Oh, Sweet Soda Pop, Goh!!!_ PLEASE PUT THAT FORK ON YOUR MOUTH AND PRETEND IT’S BEING CAKEWALK TO DIGEST THAT!!!! Hope and her grandfather yelped, in realization that Grandmother Kani could change her personality from a second to other, just like I’ve witnessed happening to some Morpeko that my group has seen during the Galarian journey. I don’t want to think about it!!! The poor youngster of the prominent eyelashes leaned backwards, alarmed by the sudden heavy atmosphere he felt on the air, tensing his muscles and expressing a face of someone who regretted to have said the last sentence. _The same one that Rattata here make before discovering Gumshoos’s stomach._ Grandfather Makai knew what to do. He yelled a loud “LOOK! TAPU KOKO’S FLYING OVER THE SKY!” while turning his wife’s head to the clouds. “Where?!?!”, she asked. Goh almost fell for it. But his attention was deviated after seeing Hope making very confusing hand gestures to the researching couple. Ash was keen to understand this was the opportunity to help out his boyfriend with his struggle. The crazy blue-coated youngster picked up Goh’s plate in a Cutiefly’s wingbeat speed and _swallowed the whole food_. Goh dropped his jaw, looking to the empty dish with his eyes blinking strongly. Ash shut his mouth tight the moment Hope’s grandparents were facing again the table.

“Fishing is making you seeing things, Makai! Tapu Koko protects Melemele! Not Ula’ula!! It can’t be him!!”

“Sorry, my sweet hibiscus!! It really looked like him!!”

“ _Oh!!!_ You let me think for a moment that you were eating like a Pikipek, Goh!! A skinny boy like you needs to eat more! Or else your body will look like a Morelull when you grow up! I’m so glad you enjoyed my lunch!!!”

 _What a relief!! She didn’t explode…!_ Ash saved us all from Earthquake Kani. Hope had a hand hiding her open mouth. I don’t know if her shock was because Ash’s plan had worked, or because Ash had eaten his third dose by helping Goh to finish the plate. I hoped at that time that his stomach was bellyache-proof. Anything is possible with this lad!!

Grandfather Makai looked to Ash, realizing his cheeks were all puffed. As an attempt to win time and avoid his wife’s attention to that detail, he decided to change the subject.

“Hope, my rebellious granddaughter!! You haven’t told us yet how did it go these last two weeks you were in Galar region! You were in Hammerlocke before you phoned us two days ago saying that you managed to get the last badge!”

“Yes!” the red haired girl affirmed. She opened one of her largest pockets of her dry green pants and showed the golden magnetic frame containing eight different badges all gathered like a puzzle. _“IIIIIIII managed!!!~_ ”

“That medallion looks really pretty with our sunbeams splashing it!”, Grandmother Kani complimented in delight.

“Wow! That means you defeated Raihan for the last badge?!”

“Affirmative, Goh! And I had to ask for a rematch to do it!”

Ash almost choked when he heard the Gym Leader’s name. He swallowed abruptly the food excess in his cheeks and punched the chest to help go down fast. Noticing the struggle, Goh quickly passed him a glass of water and the blue-coated lad drank in an eye-blinking speed, gasping loudly. “Raihan?!?! _You defeated Raihan and his Duraludon?!?!?!_ ”

“Yes! I did tell you last time he would be the last Trainer I would have to face in the end! I knew it was going to be difficult but… I had some belief I could win it at first attempt. Unfortunately, I was caught of surprise because I didn’t think I would have to do a Double Battle and with a Sandstorm all together. I lost the first match I did.”

“Was that the reason why you stood more time in Galar?”, the blue-eyes youngster asked. Hope nodded.

“I had two options: either giving up with seven badges and returning to Kanto or to stay some more time in the region to train and ask Raihan for a rematch. And I almost gave up. I went to a cybercafé right after the match to use a computer to start to book a flight. I was so disappointed about myself because my Pokémon were so excited about facing Raihan and in the end we didn’t win. It wasn’t their fault, but mine. But my search was interrupted because a shady looking man had appeared with a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen inside the space, saying it was a theft! If the owner was handing over all Pokédollars from the cashier no one would get hurt. Clients and staff were panicking. The only Pokémon the owner had was a Flareon and she was terrified! I immediately asked Litten to race to the door and shut it with a Headbutt. That outlaw wasn’t going to leave without facing me in a battle! And that’s what happened. I had sent out Obstagoon and Thwackey to help me with this and even though they were still a bit tired after taking them to a Pokémon Center they managed to defeat those Poison-types! Litten and Toxtricity kept an eye on the thief until the police arrived. I got clapped by everyone when the man was taken away! The café owner was so thankful for my help that he said that he offered the meal and he insisted I would take an item with me.”

“Amazing!!”, Ash exclaimed. “All ended well!”

“That’s my granddaughter there! _Haha~!_ ”, Grandfather Makai complimented while patting Hope’s right shoulder. “You’re really just like your father! He would do anything to help out others!”

“Even if that meant returning home full of hematomas on his legs! Our son never thought about the consequences about his actions!”

“What did the café owner give you?”, Goh asked with great curiosity. Hope smiled and moved her hand to ask to wait a bit. After returning from the house’s main hall, she showed a pink transparent case with a disc inside. Everyone looked to the item in wonder, interrogating about what would be the content.

“A compact disc?...”, Goh questioned. “There’s no tag on it…”

“Is it a music album?”, Ash innocently asked. Hope smiled humbly, sweating a bit from her temple in constraint.

“I was tempted to ask that too but the sir told me that he once found it dropped side to one of the tables when he was cleaning the space after closure time. He kept it saved for months and nobody had ever claimed it. The sir had recently inserted the CD on his laptop’s tray of the optical drive but he says the operating system couldn’t read the format and he thought I could help him since he saw me with electronic gadgets earlier. I tried to play the disc in my tablet’s external optical drive but it was the same result. But still, I decided to keep it because I want to show it to dad.”

“Right, Akamai might know what’s that CD about. He’s an Informatics Technician so he understands this kind of things. They’re too advanced for me!”, Grandmother Kani pointed.

“A disc that can’t be played on computers? That’s weird…”, Goh wondered, scratching the top of his head as Hope removed the item out of the wooden table.

“So, what made you decide to stay in Galar, Hope?”, the hazel-coloured eyes lad asked, moving on with the mysterious subject. The girl smiled and continued her story.

“Sometimes I think the world is too small. An old man that had witnessed everything that happened inside the café offered me a Tapu Cocoa drink to compliment my battling earlier and saying he knew I was from Alola region and that my face was familiar to him. He asked if I was at Akala’s Judo Academy. My eyes opened so much because he was right! And I couldn’t believe my eyes when he removed the wool cap and the scarf. I knew him and it was Master Mustard!”

“ _Mustard?..._ ”

“ _Ash…_ ”, Goh discretely whispered his boyfriend’s name in a callout attempt, realizing he was thinking in things he shouldn’t. I didn’t criticize Ash. I admit I thought that Hope was craving for a hot dog at that moment but it was the sir’s name after all!

“Mustard is a Dojo Master at the Isle of Armor! He has visited Alola region a few times under the invite of the region’s Martial Arts Federation to be a judge member in tournaments of different fighting styles. He has judged Judo tournaments, and I remember seeing him in one I had participated. I didn’t think he would recognize me because it has been since over a year that I saw him for the last time!”

“Wow, who would wonder?”, Goh commented.

“We’ve talked a little, because he noticed that something was bothering me. And I explained everything. He then told me about that Isle that is his property and that many Pokémon Trainers go to his Dojo to train with their Pokémon and improve their battling skills. He explained me he used to be a Fighting-type Gym Leader when he was younger and a regional champion as well.”

“He used to be the Champion of Galar?! Tell me you accepted to train with him!!!”

“Yes, Ash! I accepted his invite! I went with him in a Corviknight Taxi. The trip was a little long, I even slept in the way. It was already night and I was exhausted! Mustard’s wife was super kind and offered me and Pokémon a place to sleep. And in the next morning, we begun to train!”

“That’s so cool!!!”

“Did you go back to Judo training in these last two weeks, my dear?”

“More or less, grandma! Master Mustard asked me to train with other students and even with himself. He’s a black belt so I never won! But he refreshed my memory about some key moves I had forgotten since I stopped to walk and asked me to do some trials. We also had Pokémon battles!”

“It’s great Master Mustard helped you to train!”, Ash happily said.

“It did make the difference and allowed me to catch this Golduck. We only know each other for ten days but I’m sure it’s a matter of time before he’ll be more opened with me and everyone else!”

“I wanted to ask you earlier where did you get this fabulous Golduck, Hope! Those webbings look really thick, he must be one excellent swimmer!”, Grandfather Makai excitingly observed from afar. The Pokémon continued to eat like if nothing was happening at that moment.

“I’m actually surprised you’ve caught a Golduck knowing you aren’t quite into catching!”, Goh remarked.

“To tell the truth, I only caught him two days ago!… At first he only followed me around because he wanted to help me with the Gym rematch as a thanks for rescuing him.”

“Hang on, you also rescued this Golduck?!”, the lightning cheeks marked boy asked with some perplexity.

“Yeah! It was during a sunset where I was jogging with my four Pokémon nearby the Tower of Waters when we saw this Golduck for the first time. He was swimming on the sea and seemed to be just practicing his skill to get in shape. This gave me the idea to challenge him for a water race!”

“Did you win, Hope?!?!”

_“…No.”_

Ash dropped his head over the table in slight disappointment with Hope’s bluntly honest answer. Everyone laughed as Hope sticked out her tongue a little while rub her cheek with a finger. “I confess I was overconfident, but I should convince myself it’s pretty much impossible to compete with a Golduck when it comes about swimming!”

“What happened next?”

“I thanked Golduck for accepting the race and we continued to train on the beach. I saw that he stood nearby, watching us train on the coast. And we repeated this routine for more days! Every dusk, Golduck was in the same place practicing on swimming. And I continued to challenge him, even though I always lost. It might sound crazy but… I was having lots of fun! It forced me to explore my physical limits on water! The Pokémon begun to follow us on the Isle of Armor days later, I was surprised! From what I could understand from Toxtricity’s babbling and music improvisation, Golduck wanted to train alongside us and get stronger as well. He was leaving . once the moon showed, refusing to go with us to the Fields of Honor, where the Dojo is. It was even a theme of talk in one dinner time because of Golduck’s regular presence on my trainings and Master Mustard knowing what Golduck I was talking about. He told me that he’s there every day in the past two years swimming back and forth between the rocks of the Honeycalm Sea, probably to improve his skill. But thought it was interesting that the Pokémon was interacting with me because Master Mustard himself, nor a single student has managed to get his attention.”

The boys looked to her and to Golduck in silence, wondering about the reason as well. Ash let out a smile and opined: “I’m sure he liked you for training as hard as him or because you were the only one challenging him for a swimming race!”

“I think young Ash must be right!”, Grandfather Makai agreed while nodding his head. “I’ve dealt with many different Water-type Pokémon in my youth, and they can be very competitive towards other swimmers. Golduck might have earned your respect for your courage and resilience every time you challenged him, even if you never won the races!”

Golduck has never talked about this to us, but I strongly believe it was the case. My brothers agree. Actually, he has spoken very few since we met each other for the first time less than two weeks ago. The Pokémon’s got a serious nature but he’s quite calm and disciplined. The few times he actually proclaims a word, it’s almost always when he has something important to say or to have the last word.

“You think so, grandpa?”

“I believe in this too!”, Goh added.

“Well… if you say so, I’ll believe as well! But to continue about how I got Golduck. A few days ago, we had our usual meeting at the Challenge Beach and I repeated a race with the Pokémon. But I found strange that I had arrived first to the rock, thinking for a moment I had won! But there was no sign about Golduck. It’s when I noticed a nearby pirate boat, capturing him with a large net and taking pictures to his forehead! I later learnt thanks to Master Mustard that pirates sometimes come to the Isle of Armor in search for treasure or to do illegal hunting of Pokémon to sell them to Galar’s black market. And one of their most wanted things are Golduck’s Gems! They extract it and sell like expensive pieces of jewelry or as black market currency!”

Everyone was incredulous learning about this. Goh frowned and affirmed quickly that he had knowledge about this too. Unfortunately, it still happens in the modern days, just like hunting down Sharpedo for their fins. It’s horrible to imagine it! Everyone continued to hear Hope description of the happenings with great attention, with diverse reactions depending on what it was being told.

“I didn’t think twice and asked for my Pokémon’s help! They all swam to me, except for Litten who decided to stay over Obstagoon’s head and guide everyone! Thanks to the four of them, we managed to rescue Golduck and destroy the pirate ship. But I couldn’t capture the group because they all fled on their Water-type Pokémon and they were overwhelmed with Toxtricity and Thwackey’s attacks! Thankfully Golduck was unharmed so he could go swim safely back to his home. But I was impressed when I realized before entering the Dojo that the Pokémon followed us five and was willing to dine with us! And at that same dinner, he heard my talk with Master Mustard about the progress of my training for the rematch against Raihan. And it’s when Toxtricity then tried to translate me with music that Golduck wanted to help me and the other Pokémon to do this because he was in debt with us. And I was really excited and happy about this! Golduck trained with us on the remaining time before the day of the rematch and he allowed me to teach him new moves with the help of Technical Machines and Records I had! And when the day arrived, Master Mustard decided to watch the match and saw me winning the last badge! Even Raihan himself was surprised with how much better prepared I was because Golduck has an ability I didn’t realize he had that avoided his teammate to get hurt with Gigalith’s sandstorm, and complimented how he knew the right moves to deal with his Pokémon.”

“ _You took down pirates and Raihan’s Duraludon!!!!! Amaaaaaaazing!!!_ ”, Ash squealed with glittering ocular globes, they looked like disco balls hahahaha! I can confirm the last Gym Battle was amazing. I didn’t even participate on it because my brothers hung up very well the combat! It was very entertaining!

“That’s impressive! Raihan himself is already very strong from what we’ve seen in Wyndon Stadium a while ago!”, Goh exclaimed with genuine amazement.

“You showed that Gym Leader to not mess around with the people of Alola! We might be a small region but we’re full of guts and don’t turn our backs to challenges!”, Grandmother Kani pridefully reinforced her thoughts and I totally agree with her! Hope giggled after her statement, blushing a little.

“Later, Master Mustard went to see me after I was out of the dressing room and complimented the battle! He said I had great potential to be a Gym Leader but honestly, I’m much more interested to become a Professional DJ. Battling is just a hobby for me!”

“I really think you battle very well Hope, even though I don’t understand the subject as much as Ash does but…”

“Goh’s right! And you’re great in rescuing Pokémon too! You could also be a great Pokémon Ranger!”

“ _Hahaha,_ don’t make me rethink about my decisions for the future, Ash!”, Hope timidly told Ash.

“If Hope finds more happiness with music, she only needs to follow what her heart tells her so!”, the old woman opined. “You still have a long time ahead, my dear Hope! So, there’s time to decide in what you want to become!”

“Thank you, grandmother!”

“So, what about Golduck? How did he end up with you?”

“Master Mustard was about to return to the Isle of Armor and I wanted to go to the cybercafé of before to phone my family and to book a flight to Kanto. I thanked Golduck a lot and I wished him to continue to train in the Honeycalm Sea upon his return and use everything he learnt recently to defend himself on the wild. But he refused to go with him! Master Mustard laughed, telling me that Golduck was not interested at all to return to the Isle! He wanted to go with me instead! I got chosen by the Pokémon so… I used a spare Dive Ball I had collected on my journey and used it to claim him.”

“That’s so cool! I really would like to battle him other time!”, Ash let Hope know about his will.

“It’s a promise, Ash!”, Hope winked with a wide smile.

“Alright! So we’re up to date about our granddaughter’s Galarian journey! Before you guys go anywhere, it’s time for _dessert_!!!”

“There’s dessert?!?!?! I’m in!!”

 _“…I’m out… I’m so full!!!...”_ Goh whispered super low in a very high pitch, poor boy! _Hahahaha!!!_ It looks like Ash had a guaranteed extra dose of dessert for himself, since his boyfriend’s belly couldn’t stack more food! Better Hope and her grandfather help out again to move the grandmother’s attention or else Goh will use an Explosion move like a Golem!

* * *

The lunch extended even longer thanks to the dessert and the extra talk on the hut’s table. Ash and Goh explained with some more detail to Hope’s grandparents what was their role at Professor Cerise’s Laboratory as Hope had only vaguely described it to them in the webcam calls. The boys took the opportunity of the reencounter with our Trainer to talk about some things that happened since our last meeting in the foreign fields where Wooloo rollout down the green meadows. And wow, so much had happened! Chloe’s beginning to interact a little more with Pokémon from what they told us, because of taking care of a wounded Pidove and helping a little girl and her Feebas to win a contest. Hope’s eyes shone a little, excited about this. The girl can’t wait to see her again! Pikachu had a jealousy wave other time to the point of running away to Pallet Town and Mr. Mime going after him. My group was surprised as we didn’t expect Pikachu to be like this! I somehow felt better learning about this because it looks like I’m not the only one that loves to get the Trainer’s attention, _ehe_! Pikachu was sweating from his head, embarrassed to remember this happening. Goh has met again with a young childhood friend from Johto, he participated in a Pokémon Trade event and his Pokédex continues to grow! I’m as excited as Hope to meet up new Pokémon at Cerise Park once we’re back! Apparently one of his biggest catches was a Flygon! Fantastic! Ash continued to train his Pokémon, participate in official World Coronation Series battles and rise up his ranking of the championship… until he lost his first battle, that is. We got surprised about this! Ash’s spark vanished the moment he told us this, worrying Hope.

“Ash, are you alright?... You know… I also dislike losing but… I like to think it’s an opportunity to think about what went wrong and how can I improve next time! Was it an adult Trainer?”

“No… It was a Galarian girl named Bea.”

“Bea?!?!”, Hope exclaimed loudly her name, after retreating the spoon that she was about to bite with a portion of dessert. “You fought Bea, Ash?!?!”

“Yeah, it was her name! You know her?”

“Ash, she’s one of the Gym Leaders of Stow-on-Side!! I wanted to challenge her but the Gym was closed. I got told she was in a training journey so I ended looking for an alternative place and I faced a Ghost-type Gym Leader instead! Where did you find her?!”

“It was one of these days we went to Saffron City. I wanted to train with Riolu at the Fighting Dojo and challenge its Karate Master. But he was defeated by her. At that exact moment…”

Hope looked very quickly to Goh in attempt to read his state of mind concerning Ash’s unusual gloominess. His lips tensed. Yep. That only meant that not only his has happened as it was serious. The raven-haired lad continued to remember that day:

“She has a Pokémon that I didn’t know it existed, named Grapploct.”

“Grapploct?... Grapploct… The name tells me something, hang on!”, Hope asked as she begun to look for a photograph on her phone. “Ah! There it is. Is it this Pokémon, Ash?”

“Oh!! Yes, that’s the one!!”, Ash confirmed as he pointed to the phone screen.

“I didn’t battle any Grapploct in Galar, I’ve only seen them in wilderness.“

“It was a combat where we could use two Pokémon and I decided to use the Fighting types I had. Her Hawlucha and Grapploct took both Farfetch’d and Riolu down. They looked barely affected by anything they did…”

“What does Grapploct do? Wouldn’t Pikachu’s Thunderbolt work against it?”

“Grapploct is a Fighting type. Not Water type.”, Goh corrected.

“Really?! I was convinced it was a Water type! I saw him swimming and all! Wow… And it’s body reminds me of other Pokémon like Octillery.”

Hope and Goh looked again to Ash, who was unusually silent and frowning. Looking to his downcast posture, clenching his hands over his lap and not moving his eyes, it was obvious that he couldn’t stop thinking about that loss.

“Wow… If Ash lost against Bea… I would be probably bought plane tickets earlier to return to Kanto if she was in Stow-On-Side…”

“Probably. Miss Kani? Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Sure, Ash! Feel yourself at home!”

“Thank you.”

This was awkward. The followed silence was awkward. The atmosphere became awkward. “Well… everyone’s done eating, right? I think we’re well stuffed now so… I’m going to help with the dishes, Kani!”

“You’re going to help me?”

“Yes, kuʻu Alola! We have guests so I don’t want Hope to ignore her friends!”

“I should start to ask for guests every day. Like this you would always do the dishes! Don’t pick up Ash’s plate as he isn’t done yet.”

“Sure, of course!”

Hope’s grandparents picked up the empty dishes over the table and returned to the house’s kitchen. The Alolan girl became worried after seeing Ash’s expression changing the moment she compared the Galarian Pokémon with the Jet Pokémon, now reinforced with the rather dry response he had given before absenting. Hope showed a sweat droplet on her temple and asked Goh with a more faded voice tone:

“Did I say something I shouldn’t?...”

Goh crossed his arms over the wooden surface and explained something that we still didn’t know: “Ash lost three times followed since he lost against Bea to the point of being really depressed and beginning to question his dreams. One of the Trainers that defeated him had an Octillery. It was hard for me to see him that way, you don’t imagine it. I literally had to drag him out of the Laboratory to go to do a research with me in Mauville City of Hoenn region to investigate about a sandstorm phenomenon. That’s where I got Flygon, the causer of the altered weather. _I thought I had inspired Ash to overcome the bad memory but…_ ”

Hope was really troubled about the whole situation. It wasn’t her intention either to make Goh begin to question is capabilities to improve the mood of his special one. She definitely wanted to help out in any way. “…I now wished I knew more about the Pokémon because I want to help Ash to defeat her the day he gets an opportunity to do a rematch. I’m thinking in taking you and Ash to the city’s library tomorrow morning to look for information about Grapploct. Maybe we’ll be able to sketch a strategy or some ideas of things he could do to defeat it.”, she suggested. The blue-eyed boy humbly smiled and said: “If he agrees with it, then we could go there.”

“Right. I was going there a lot when I still lived here, and most of the things I know about Pokémon, were all thanks to the books in that place. They’re mostly focused about the regional biodiversity but they must have a few about Pokémon from other places.”

“It won’t hurt to try out!”

“I was planning to challenge Ash for a Pokémon battle during our stay here in Alola but now that I know what’s going on lately, it might not be the best time to do it. It wouldn’t be fair to challenge him when he’s not at his highest capabilities to instruct a Pokémon. I think that going to the beach today will do him good. It won’t solve Ash’s problem but… it could refresh his ideas and be more fired up to train with his Pokémon upon returning to Kanto. That’s what I did when I lost against Nanu last year. I went to the beach to swim and catch some waves. And the fog in my mind begun to vanish, showing me diverse paths that lead to solutions. Like a Defog move!”

Goh smiled with Hope’s honest thoughts. “Thank you, Hope”, he said. “Let’s have some fun today!”

“Now we’re talking!”

My group was so entertained chatting with Ash and Goh’s Pokémon that they weren’t paying attention to the human talk. It’s something I was willing to discuss with them once we would be at the Secluded Shore. I got curious to learn more details about that combat Ash did with Bea. I’m not a battling expert but maybe I could give some ideas, just like Hope wanted to do with her human friends. Now until we don’t go there, I tried to ensure that everyone had their cups empty. And it seemed my morning advice worked on Toxtricity. He was bloated like heck, but he really didn’t want to feel an _Earthquake Kani_. But some Pokémon weren’t done yet so I had to interrupt the chat to explain them what I had told earlier to my big baby brother and my negative past experiences of every time I wasn’t finishing my meal. And I installed panic by describing those happenings. I can’t say I regret because it was hilarious seeing Toxtricity trying to stuff his mouth to help other Pokémon finish their cups. Even more when Thwackey and Farfetch’d begun slamming with their items to shoot the food leftovers on Exeggutor’s three heads. “Don’t forget the head on his tail! It has a mouth too! Fifty points if you manage to feed it without making it angry!”, I loudly warned them. Raboot glared to me, feeling awkward. I stuck out my tongue and winked, getting a sigh in response. Pikachu laughed. “That’s Litten, alright! I missed you already!”, the Electric Pokémon happily admitted. “Me too, Pikachu. All of you!”, I replied with a sincere smile.

* * *

The plans for the next day hadn’t been discussed since Ash returned from the bathroom as Goh and Hope preferred to not bring that up just yet. Instead, the children were focused to prepare themselves for the afternoon at the beach. Hope still had one of her extra 2-piece swimsuits, a very sporty one in black with green stripes saved in the drawers of the house. Her grandmother helped with the sunscreen scrubbing. When I peeked Ash and Goh in the guestroom, they were doing the same thing, already with the dark swimming shorts put on. In the end they decided to wear an alternative outfit where they would admit later to Hope that they had bought them the previous evening at Hau’oli City when they were strolling in the main avenue with Kukui’s family. They have good taste! The boys wore short-sleeved green and purple shirts, respectively, with red and yellow hibiscus. Ash had it opened with a white shirt under. Goh preferred to have it closed. The shorts were equal, the only difference were the colours: blue and grey. They both wore flipflops, in green and in red. Hope also changed her outfit to a simpler one, with a white tank and black shorts. She brought her Alolan cap too, even though she only wore it in the car trip to the Secluded Shore as the vehicle hadn’t ceiling and the sunlight was strong! Some selfies were taken as well photographs of the surroundings every time we could see Pokémon on the wild. Goh was thrilled to have spotted a flock of Trumbeak following a leading Toucannon over the sky. Even Toxtricity because he had never seen these Pokémon before, encouraging him to [play a tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vvs_3XWF0c) on the way. Pikachu was happy. Even Raboot seemed satisfied, I saw a small smile behind his fur collar.

It's difficult to describe the excitement that Hope felt the moment she stepped her naked feet over the sand of Ula’ula Beach. Despite of never going to water, I loved to walk on the coast and watch our Trainer doing Mantine Surf. I was so proud of her the day she won that Silver medal in a friendly competition it was organized! This beach is important to both of us because we’ve spent a lot of fun times together when our home was still in Malie City. It was also our favourite escapade when days were a little gloomier. Enough time had passed at this point so it was safe for the children to go for a dive. If it wasn’t for Hope’s invitation and Goh pushing his boyfriend towards the low boulder near a rockless water bottom, the young kid wouldn’t have had the initiative to go. Ash was really acting strange, that was a fact. The Alolan Champion I know, would have sprinted to water right after exiting the car. Not lying down over the towel and observe the faded clouds over the horizon. That’s something I would expect more from Goh to tell the truth! Hope and him managed with this easy play of alternative or simultaneous diving, to distract the hazel-colored eyes boy. It’s good to have fun once in a while, right? Hope’s grandfather was in other area, testing his new Super Rod and see if he could get Wishiwashi at this day. As they played that game on their own, I took the chance to observe the entire group of Pokémon. Pikachu, Pyukumuku, Sobble and Obstagoon were doing drawings on the sand. Exeggutor napped with Dragonite. Gengar had teamed up with Thwackey to do pranks on the others. Riolu and Raboot were meditating while catching up some sun, under the [tropical tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ibAMkh0Ml4) played by the Punk Pokémon in his small trance bubble. Farfetch’d and Golduck were doing a friendly battling between them, training moves. It was evident at the chatting in the near end of the lunch time that those two were getting along because of having the same goal of constant seeking for greater strength. All cool for now!

But I still wanted to talk with Ash’s Pokémon to learn more about the blue and yellow cephalopod. I went to see Pikachu first.

“That’s a really nice drawing there!”

“Ah, thanks! Can you guess what is it?”

“Uhm… Is it a Cutiefly? The face reminds me of one…”

“OK, great! I feared it looked like a Shiftry!”

“No! Haha! It’s nothing related! If it was a Shiftry it would have an angry face. It’s not angry!”

“What’s a Shiftry?”

“A Pokémon you wouldn’t like to meet, Sobble. _According to what I know about it…_ ”

“I would punch its face anyway if he touched me or Sobble. I don’t care how big is it!”

“I won’t doubt about it!!...”, I awkwardly laughed towards the confident attitude of Pyukumuku, that showed his guts to flex a white arm. “Is it ok I talk just with you, Pikachu?”

“Oh? Sure. I’ll be back, guys!”

“It’s ok!”, Obstagoon responded, having fun playing with the two other Pokémon.

We moved away from the spot for a greater privacy. “Is it serious, Litten?”, Pikachu asked with an honest curiosity, tilting his head sideways.

“If seeing a regional Champion like Ash losing against a Gym Leader of a different region isn’t serious then I don’t want to think what it truly is. I don’t know if you paid attention to the human talk at lunch but Ash told Hope about what happened at Saffron City rather recently.”

“Oh…! _That…_ ”, Pikachu said with a faint gasp, a little bothered about the subject. “I didn’t participate in that battle, Ash used Farfetch’d and Riolu.”

“I know. But what did that Grapploct do to make Ash look so beaten down? Did you see him leaving to the bathroom at a point?”

“I did notice it but I wasn’t thinking he was down, I only saw his back! About Grapploct… the Pokémon’s very agile to block out indirect attacks. It avoided all of Riolu’s Vaccum Waves. So Ash saw himself forced to ask Riolu to use Force Palm to get closer but… It was worse! Grapploct used its tentacles to imprison Riolu with a move called and knock him out with a move they call Octolock… combined with Liquidation.”

“Octolock...? I’ve heard about Liquidation but never about Octolock.”

“Riolu couldn’t stand a chance, he was completely stuck in those arms!... We were all caught by surprise!”

“So, let me understand this: Riolu was the only one battling Grapploct?”

“Yes.”

“Wow… Sounds like a really tough Pokémon. And Riolu was already quite strong in the time I’ve battled him.”, I observed in frown while observing from the meditating Riolu side by side with Raboot. I kept talking to Pikachu. “Do you think Riolu would be ok to talk about this?”

“Ash is dealing worse with the defeat than him so I think he won’t mind. When Riolu talked to Raboot, Sobble, and I he said that it was impressive how Grapploct had such a stable aura. He didn’t feel a shift that could allow him to predict what he would do next. Bea’s Pokémon is very well trained.”

“I might talk to him later when he’s done with meditation. But I’ll take the chance to tell you that it might not be surprising if we go to Malie Library tomorrow morning. Hope’s determined to help Ash and you guys out to make a plan in case you have the opportunity to face Bea again.”

“I’m sure Ash’s going to accept! Since the day of loss he’s been training with us almost daily! We’ve interrupted it two days ago because of having to come here in research duty.”

“I understand! Maybe I could help you out too? I know Hope for a good while and I’m sure she’s tempted to battle again with Ash.”

“It would be a good training!”, Pikachu exclaimed, smiling.

“Gengar! Stop throwing sea shells to my head!”, we heard Raboot complaining to a cackling Gengar avoiding to be hit by a seashell on fire.

“Come on! Let’s play and have some fun!”, my simian brother asked out loud, laughing after Gengar’s prank and willing to join the play by slamming the flying seashells kicked by the Rabbit Pokémon.

“You two!!!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Riolu, help me out! Those two are having too much fun in throwing sea shells at me!”

“Oooh, a game? If that’s a game they want, they’ll have it! Let’s win this, Raboot! Your Ember and my Vaccum Waves!”

“The team that drops the seashell loses!!”, Gengar suggested out loud, thrilled to get the Pokémon’s attention. At least they were having fun, I thought I had to do something! Pikachu smiled when we crossed looks upon witnessing the scene afar.

The children returned to the towels some moments later to rest. Hope made the same observation as I did before. 

“They’re all getting along!”

“Yeah! It’s great!”, Ash agreed, stretching his arms to relax more his muscles. “Man, these dives were awesome!”

“I don’t know how you manage to get out of water so quickly after you dive! I take time to open my eyes and see where I need to swim back!”

“You don’t go often to the beach is that right, Goh?”

“ _…I can’t say it’s my favourite place to go…_ ”

“ _Haha!_ The world would be more boring if we all enjoyed the same things! But you’re enjoying your time here at Alola, aren’t you?”

“Yes! The weather is so different from Kanto! And just like Ash told me yesterday, the sea of Alola is really pretty!”

“Great! We definitely have a better sun than Galar. And the best waters!”, Hope winked with a smirk of overconfidence on her face. “And talking about the sea… Look over there!”

The trio of human kids looked to the direction Hope was pointing out. An adult woman went over a board to change a sign and guided some Mantine nearby the shallow water. What a great timing! The red-haired girl looked to the Kantonian couple and joyfully said: “The renting hour of Mantine Surf has just open! Ash! You told me you’ve done Mantine Surfing before! What do you say if we catch some waves with their help?!”

“Alright! It’s a long time I’ve done it but I want to repeat!”

“Oh, great! I’ll watch from her- _Huh!?!?_ ”

“You’re coming with me, Goh! You’ll love it!!!”

“BUT ASH!! I NEVER DID MANTINE SURFING BEFORE! HOLD UP!!”

 _Oh Sweet Soda Pop!_ Ash just dragged that charcoal-coloured hair city boy to try out a radical sport, this promised to be fun to watch! Hahaha! Pikachu had the same idea as me: to tell the others that our Trainers would test their courage and show their skills, or lack of them, to face the Ula’ula beach waves. Great minds think alike!

The children did the rental in the minutes that followed. Goh had to fall on water maybe over twenty times before he could find balance on Mantine and get used on the Pokémon’s swimming speed. Hope was giving tips to Goh by explaining things with more clearness than the vague onomatopoeias that Ash exclaimed loudly, almost gibberish sounding. At a point the youngster of endless energy had climbed the same Mantine to change his soulmate’s limbs, back and belly positions to correct his posture. Thankfully I have some fantastic yellow eyes that can watch details from great distances, or else I would have missed a faint blushing on the Goh’s face when being corrected!

And once Goh begun to handle his center of gravity, the three begun to race over the stable water, avoiding to get too far from the coast. The competition was interesting! As much Ash was great in everything physically demanding he had a good challenge in keeping up with Hope’s easiness to navigate with the Kite Pokémon. So, Goh whispered a strategy to make Hope fall off, because she didn’t since the beginning! The Researchers did sort of a Persian and Rattata play, chasing their friend, cornering her and forcing her to fall with the Pokémon’s heavy splashes on water, causing a laughter and exchanging a high five for the teamwork. But Hope didn’t want the boys to be the last ones laughing, so she pranked them by staying longer in water and giving them a scare by getting out of water out of their visual field, grabbing their legs and shouting, forcing them to fall off the Mantine by the scare. You know how it ends! Water splashing wars and lots, lots of laughter!

Shortly after they were done with the soaking, Hope had gotten up to look to the horizon. Big waves were coming! And the Alolan girl couldn’t wait any longer. She asked her Mantine to take her to the waves spot.

“Look, guys! She’s going to surf those waves! Just watch! Toxtricity, play something cool and fitting!”

“Alright, little big sister!”, my big baby brother promptly responded and didn’t wait much before [fulfilling my request](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeeRKy-zaWA). It was indeed a good pick, that encouraged Thwackey to help out with the percussion play!

Ash and Goh observed Hope’s performance over their Mantine. She skillfully guided the rented Pokémon in a sinuous pattern to catch up some speed. We could see Tentacool heads occasionally popping up to surface. When she was confident enough about how fast her Mantine was swimming, she took it to the top of the wave, flying high and pulling her cool moves! Three rolls on the right and a more evident spinning in the same direction on the fourth roll. It was a Huntail Spiral move! Further, she repeated but doing left rolls instead. On this alternate direction it’s called a Gorebyss Spiral! Lower waves were good for a third move she showed to everyone. Up flip, down flip, up flip again and Mantine flew in a circle. That was a cool Lanturn 360! And without much surprise, Hope wasn’t done in showing off her surfing abilities. On the next wave she pulled out a Primarina Twist after three downflips and making the Mantine dance in a wavy pattern during a fall. Would she manage to pull up a Starmie 720?! She only managed once and it’s super difficult as you need a big wave and lots of speed, four different flips and spinning Mantine like a Starmie on the fifth! Hope was really aiming for repeating a Starmie 720! There she was climbing that wave! And up! And down! Sweet Soda Pop, those Tentacool were making it hard! Those rocks with spectating Pyukumuku were even looking to her, wondering if she would fly over the wave! She’s back up again! And rising! Higher and higher aaaaaaaaaaaaand…!!! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT! DOWN! WAIT! NO! STARMIE 720 ISN’T THAT! Mantine got confused and flapped its flippers and made a Magikarp Splash move! Hope shouted on the middle air a “OOOOH COME OOOON!!!” before falling with both her hands on her head!!! What a disappointment but the way she fell to water was hilarious! Ash and Goh went closer to her, shouting to ask if she was alright. She put her arm out of water to grab on Mantine, spitting the water and venting nicely: “No! I’m not ok!! I missed a Starmie 720 in front of you, I so wanted to show I could do it!”

“ _Hooooooope!!!!_ All those moves were so cool!!!”, Ash shouted extremely thrilled, his eyes were sparkling intensively! ”I never did those tricks before!! I want to try too!!!”

“You can try, Ash! But go for the Huntail and Gorebyss Spirals first, trust me! All beginners start with these!”

“Can you explain me quickly how do you pull those two?!”

“Three right rolls and a quick right spinning make a Huntail Spiral! The left version is for Gorebyss!”

“Alright!! Let’s surf!!!”

That kid almost didn’t let Hope talk more! I wondered if Ash was going to be alright! And to my surprise he handled it quicker than what I expected! He still fell a few times because of Magikarp splashes and tripping over a Tentacool’s head at a point, but he didn’t give up all the way! I was impressed and clapped along with Ash’s Pokémon. “Way to go Ash!!!”, Pikachu cheered side to me.

“Great surfing, Ash!! You’re no stranger to Mantine Surf indeed. I could really see earlier that you’ve rented them before!”

“Yeah! I explained you this once! But I want to do a Lanturn 360 now!”

“I love your enthusiasm, Ash! You can do it! And you, Goh? Will you try pulling a Huntail Spiral too?”

“I-I’m not going there!! I’m only trying Mantine Surf for less than an hour and do you think I can roll over a wave three times?! I can watch but I won’t catch a wave!”

Hope and Ash exchanged looks. They grinned reciprocally. Goh became tense, those smirks weren’t a good sign, he knew. He could think that way but I knew a good Pinap Juice was coming! “I’ll be back in a sec’!”, the thick eyebrows lad said, and went to return his Mantine to the lady side to the rental spot. Ash was returning by swimming. The blue-eyed boy lifted his thin eyebrows with perplexity, a little constrained.

“Huh? He won’t surf anymore? He didn’t need to return the Mantine if he wanted to continue!”

“How sure are you that he’s going to stop surfing now?”

Goh hummed an adorable confused sound. Once Ash was back, he climbed Goh’s Mantine, stood up, turned his back and moved Goh’s arms to embrace his waist. “Hold on well!”, the lad positively warned before looking forward, frowning and pulling a white smirk. “We’re gonna do that Lanturn 360!”

“WHAT?!?!?”

Hope clenched her fists and gave out a quick laugh. “YES!!! LET’S SURF US THREE!!”

“OH NO!!!!”

Goh was as mortified as a Duskull, _hahahaha!_ I loved it, I couldn’t stop laughing! I could see that even Raboot was enjoying what he was seeing and Sobble was having a tremendous admiration watching his Trainer doing something so dangerous! Kudos to Goh, yes. The poor city boy was grabbing Ash’s waist so tightly that I was glad he hadn’t the strength of a Bewear or else Ash would have an early meeting with Tapu Fini in the “other side”. Ash surfed alongside Hope, avoiding the floating Jellyfish Pokémon. And these waves were getting even harder to climb up because Exeggutor told us that he could see Wailmer hiding under water, and that our Trainers were also avoiding them. I was tempted to climb him but I was fearing I would miss a single detail in this exhibition. They were reaching that bit that had the resident population of Pyukumuku on the rocks. The one Goh caught ensured he didn’t know them, but one thing was certain: they were betting who was going to fall first. It seems like even wild Pokémon love to see mischief on the others! A huge wave was approaching, and I could hear the kids shouting from distance:

_“A HUNDRED SWEET MALASADAS! HE NALU NUI KĒLĀ!! WE’RE LUCKY TODAY!!! ASH! ARE YOU READY?!”_

_“NO NEED TO ASK! LET’S CLIMB IT!!!”_

_“LET’S GOOOOOOOO!”, Hope and Ash exclaimed in choir._

_“WAIT, WAIT, NOT SO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”_

I laughed so much I couldn’t see a single grain of sand because of my tears!!!! Oh boy, I had to breath well a few minutes later! But they were really rocking it! They were even lucky enough to have a Wailord getting out of a wave under them! Amazing! Hope and Ash vocalized loud laughter, contrasting Goh’s frightened screams. He was never letting his arms off Ash and even buried his face behind Ash’s nape.

“I need to admit but I’m loving this!”, Raboot giggled while wiggling his tail. “I never expected to see Goh surfing!”

“Wow! Is that wiggling tail, Raboot?”

“I-It is!...”, Raboot admitted, unable to hide his blushing cheeks. “I’m happy right now.”

Those words echoed strangely well for me. I stared to Raboot for a bit, thinking about the sentence. I didn’t hear for the followed seconds what the Pokémon were saying on their spots. I snapped out of my distraction when Exeggutor was repeating the name “Sharpedo! Sharpedo!! Sharpedo!!!”.

“Huh?! Sharpedo?!”, Pikachu lifted his ears in alert to the information.

“I see a Sharpedo gam! Gam! Gam!!”

“This is bad!!!”, I anxiously told everyone as I stood by four. Well aware of the seriousness of the situation and well acknowledged about the species in question, Toxtricity tried to fight anxiety by [playing a song that in my opinion was even more anxiety inducing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tug2iKVGtU). 

“Sharpedo?...”

“Predators, Sobble!! Sharp teeth Water and Dark types!!”

“Yes! And we’re one of their favourite snacks!”, Pyukumuku informed, alarmed as us. “All the others of my kind fled already!”

“Ash, Goh and Hope are too far! I can’t reach in time even if I run!”, Riolu shouted in frustration.

“I’ll go there!!”, Dragonite said, not wasting time in flapping his wings and flying towards the sea to help the children out.

“I’m going too!”, Gengar spoke, floating after the hug-adept dragon Pokémon. “ _GET READY BECAUSE YOU’RE ALL GOING TO DO A DIET!_ ”

“I wished I was a Talonflame now! I would help!! But I can’t swim!!”

As soon as I finished the sentence, Golduck silently sprinted out of his spot and dived on water. He was swimming at a speed that Ash and Goh’s Pokémon that were at my side were impressed to witness. Yes, he’s the best swimmer of my group and this was the evidence. Golduck was so fast that he had caught up Dragonite and Gengar from afar. We only hopped that our Trainers wouldn’t be harmed!

“Hey! Ash! Dragonite and Gengar are flying here!”

“Maybe they want to join us!!! Guys!!”

“ _ASH! HOPE!!! THERE ARE SHARPEDO COMING! RETURN TO THE BEACH!!!_ ”

“Gengar, are you alright?”

Goh had moved away his head from Ash’s nape, wondering why Dragonite and Gengar were babbling so loudly from afar. The slender boy with black and red swimming shorts screamed after figuring out the reason. “SHARPEDO! THERE ARE SHARPEDO OVER THERE!!!”

Ash and Hope looked at the same time to their front. The red-haired girl minimized things by saying “Oh! Two Sharpedo? It’s normal they appear alone or in a pair, but they only tackle and continue to swim!”

She instantly regrets to have said anything. I can count and there were at least seven of them. And they didn’t look friendly. The girl gulped and nervously added: “… except if they’re in a gam! _That means they’re hunting!!_ ”

Our Trainers panicked, making a huge noise out there on distance. They tried to make a u-turn to return to the beach, so they begun descending the wave as it was too risky to land badly! My purple and blue brother [changed the tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=484wom2kaTo). Thwackey joined the anxiety club by joining the song play. Sharpedo are known to be quick swimmers as well. If they know Aqua Jet, it’s even worse! And a few of them knew it. I was so scared, seeing those things happening. More reasons to hate water!

Dragonite used its powerful hurricane move to destabilize the water surface of the incoming Sharpedo. It did work to make two of them give up. Gengar tried to use Psychic on the other five but nothing was happening. “GENGAR! DARK TYPE POKÉMON ARE IMMUNE TO PSYCHIC! USE NIGHT SHADE!!, his Trainer warned and commanded. The Ghost-type immediately obeyed, effectively attacking three Sharpedo. They must have seen something scary in Gengar’s illusion because they fled really fast! Two were remaining and were near the fleeing Mantine that tried their best to return to the shallow water where Sharpedo wouldn’t manage to enter. At the moment one of the predators leaped over water to tackle Hope, Golduck surfaced at the same time and used a powerful Brick Break move right on the offending Pokémon’s snout! Bam!!! Super-effective!! The last Sharpedo tried to use Crunch as a payback, but Golduck pushed it back with a Water Pulse that confused the Brutal Pokémon. Alright!! That trio of Pokémon were the heroes of the day! The children managed to return safely to the sand, all thanks to Dragonite, Gengar and Golduck’s teamwork! The group of Pokémon side to me congratulated the trio for their successful rescuing, with them making signs of appreciation.

“That was so close…!...”, Goh panted while cleaning up the sweat on his head. “Thank you for saving us!!”

“Thank you, Dragonite! Gengar! Golduck!”, Ash expressed in relief. “Hope, your Golduck’s great!”

“Thank you all three! I can’t thank enough! I feel lucky that I’ve met this Pokémon. Master Mustard told me that Sharpedo avoided to go to the Honeycalm Sea at dusk because of him! The populating gam was afraid of him!”

“Whoa! Is that true, Golduck?”, the impressed Gengar asked. Golduck just nodded and quickly affirmed: “I was dealing with Sharpedo at the Isle of Armor’s waters when I still lived there.”

“That’s cool!”, Gengar complimented. Dragonite happily nodded in affirmation.

“I think it’s useless to ask but… We’re done with Mantine Surf today, right?”

“ _Yeeeah…_ ”, Ash awkwardly agreed, chuckling nervously and petting the Mantine at the same time Hope did it to hers. “Let’s call it a day.”

“ _…The only water I want for the rest of the day is the shower._ ”, Goh confessed, almost with an imperceptible voice pitch.

“ _Keiki!_ _Children!!_ Are you alright?!?!”

“Grandpa!!”, Hope exclaimed after seeing Grandfather Makai running to them with his fishing equipment and panting endlessly: “…A-a…….Are you wounded?! … I s-saw a Sha-Sharpedo gam during fishing and I got almost a heart attack when I saw it was going to your direction!!”

“We’re all fine! Thanks to Ash’s Dragonite and Gengar, and my Golduck!”

“May the Guardian Deities of Alola protect you three, thank you so much! If I was fifty years younger I would have dived and fought them just like in the old days!”

“Were you a Pokémon Trainer, Mr. Makai?”, Ash naively asked.

“No, I was a Life-Guard in my youth! It was really unfortunate for you to decide to Mantine Surf at the same time a Sharpedo gam was grouping to hunt for prey! It’s not frequent to happen so close to the Secluded Shore!”

“Oh! I see!”

“Did you manage to fish Wishiwashi?”, Goh wondered with some great expectations.

The man let escape an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head. “Unfortunately, the fishing gods aren’t cooperating with me…”

“Too bad… Did you catch anything else, grandpa?”

“Not even a nibble! It was disastrous…!”

“Not a single Pokémon?!”

“I’m disappointed too, granddaughter! I was so excited to try out my newest Super Rod model and Kyogre lure!”

“ _…Kyogre lure?...”_

The old man showed the lure and placed it on the shallow water to example how it worked. I did an effort to not laugh because the way the lure moved on water, was nothing like a real Kyogre’s natural way to swim. _What was he thinking when he bought it?! Hahaha!!!_ The children were sweating of their foreheads, unimpressed by the object.

“ _Grandpa… No wonder why not a single Pokémon fell for it…_ ”

“ _I should have figured… Let’s return home?..._ ”

Hope, Ash and Goh nodded in affirmation to the embarrassed old man. It didn’t seem like but the afternoon had passed quickly. The sun would begin to set down in a while so it was better to return home and the humans take a good shower. It would be an opportunity for me to talk with other Pokémon as there were few opportunities during our time spent at the Secluded Shore.

* * *

With salt water properly removed and dressing again the special Alolan clothing of before, Hope’s grandparents drove the kids, Pikachu, Raboot, Sobble, Toxtricity and I to Malie City once the sky was orange tinted. It was other party for Ash at the restaurant. He couldn’t decide in what to eat from the menu. I don’t know how he could eat that much especially knowing what I’ve seen in the beginning of the afternoon. Grandmother Kani almost choked her dinner as soon as the boy told her that they were chased by a Sharpedo gam during Mantine Surf and he had lots of fun. Goh had food stuck on his throat too, hahaha!! The old woman even pointed that the blue-coated youngster could almost be Hope’s brother because his thirst for adrenaline was just like the red-haired granddaughter. It’s true, Ash and Hope have a lot of things in common and that’s one of them! They laughed about the Brutal Pokémon now but hours ago they weren’t! Goh asked a few things about the city they were at and the Pokémon that live in the island. He was making up a list on his Rotom Phone of species he wanted to find the next day, excited with the fact that Hope told him that she could take her Kantonian friends to places where the odds of locating certain Pokémon were higher. It’s no secret for the boyfriends that Hope has explored a lot of the Ula’ula Island on her own and that meant dealing with lots of different Pokémon species. I witnessed this often since I began living with her!

Us Pokémon gathered again at a special zone in the outside reserved for our kinds, allowing Exeggutor to join everyone out of their Poké Balls! I had the opportunity to talk with Riolu, Raboot and Sobble about Bea’s Pokémon, with Pikachu listening too. Riolu went a little deeper than Pikachu, explaining me all those abstract feelings about Grapploct and Bea’s souls. In short, there was no way he could predict his opponent’s moves and the Pokémon was crazily strong. But he was truly not demotivated about having lost. Actually, Riolu was more devoted to training. Farfetch’d had heard our discussion and decided to comment about the Hawlucha he battled. It was equally tough but he’s willing to have a rematch as well, so just like his blue friend, he’s training daily at Kanto, even in other regions whenever he’s got the opportunity. I started to think that in one hand, it was actually good we fought Allister instead of Bea at Stow-On-Side. I agree with Hope when she commented earlier in this current day that her journey would have been very short. On the other hand… I would have liked to challenge Bea. I know both close and long-range moves, perhaps I could have won!... _Perhaps…_ I was in doubt. _Weird because…_ _I’m pretty confident with my self but this time…_ _I asked myself: If Ash, the official Champion of Alola, who took down Tapu Koko, one of the four Guardian Deities and most powerful Pokémon of the entire region, lost against someone… would Hope do better? Would I do better?... The answer seemed obvious to me._

The night sky was perfect by the time we’ve finished dinner and Hope’s family showed the streets around to Ash, Goh and their Pokémon. This was being a novelty for Toxtricity as well who often [played a song in his chest ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70qYGxqjFhU). Next, Hope’s Grandparents took the children Malie Garden to take selfies and photographs together as a memory of the moment spent here. Goh really enjoyed how the vegetation was so well taken care, and how some resident Pokémon had no issues at all in passing nearby people. Grandmother Kani took advantage to pass by the tea shop to take some medicinal herbs home, as well to offer a tea drink to everyone as it helped with digestion. Though I think it’s mostly for Goh, not for Ash because he’s got a metabolism that could compete with a Snorlax! And later, we all went to the top of Mount Hokulani under Grandfather Makai’s suggestion. Obviously, Hope, Ash and Goh didn’t refuse! It was good to revisit this place because you have a phenomenal view to Malie City and it’s a recommended spot for stargazing! Hope had fun identifying the constellations and explaining their names to the boys, who were very interested in the theme. Ash knows lot about them too, something that positively surprised our Trainer! We hadn’t time to go to the Observatory as it was getting late, the adults had their sleeping schedules, the kids were getting sleepy from such a long day and my Pokémon group were on the same circumstance. There was also the traffic jam and driving time until home to have in consideration as well. Ash took the chance to phone to Professor Kukui to warn that they were invited by Hope’s grandparents to sleep at their house for the night, so to not worry about their absence. It was all cool for the Masked Royal. I mean, Professor Kukui!! I still can’t believe we’ve met this old idol of ours! Goh also phoned to Professor Cerise to give news about their day. Pikachu and Sobble were closing their eyes already on the first minutes of return by car. Raboot was scrubbing his eyes as well. We even yawned at the same time! It was a really long day but I preferred to hold until home. I wouldn’t close my eyes before Hope would be on bed!

* * *

I missed the background noises of this land. The scents carried by the wind of fresh and strong humidity of the treetops and smoke of the fire tiki torches from the neighborhood. The faint noises of some Bug type Pokémon singing to the stars and the human belly laughter of residents and tourists very far away. The moon was at a wanning gibbous phase and its brightness could illuminate our area. I stretched my legs on Hope’s bedroom after a long fur licking session of mine. Toxtricity was already snoring with his belly down on the carpet. I don’t blame him for shutting his brain off as soon as he sat down on it. We had to wake up really early in Galar to catch the airplane here. My other brothers were on their Poké Ball comforts, probably already snoozing inside. Hope had dressed her pajama already, brushed her teeth and put her phone to charge on the wall’s socket. “ _Strange…_ _I don’t want to sleep just now…_ ”, she talked to herself. I looked to her and opened my yellow ocular globes more widely as soon as I heard that. “Sorry, Litten! I was a little drowsy back in Hokulani but for some reason I feel even more awaken now!”

“It’s ok, Hope. It happens to everyone!”, I meowed to her in response.

The girl looked around in her space and hesitated upon staring to her backpack. Seconds later, she moved towards the large monochromatic bag and took off her ukulele.  
  
“Hope! Everyone’s asleep already!!!”

“Don’t worry, Litten!”, she assured me, understanding my noises of complaint. “I know I shouldn’t do this… but the balcony is far from the bedrooms. If I’m cautious enough nobody will wake up.”

She had a point though. And I understood that it was also an attempt to get drowsier, if the right plays were done. Hope invited me to follow her. She quietly twisted and pulled the door knob and closed the division, carefully walking towards the corridor that leads to the balcony separated by other door and some stairs. Hope had adopted a play posture for the musical instrument when she hummed in wonder, realizing that we weren’t alone. We watched Ash’s back on his white t-shirt and blue shorts, alone, sat down on the lower part of the roof. He was staring to an object he firmly held on his opened hands, red, spherical and wooly.

“Ash?...”

“Ah…! Hope.”, the hazel-coloured eyes boy neutrally reacted after a slow waist twist to see who was talking to him. “You’re still awaken?”

“That’s the question I ask to you as well!”

There was a short pause after my Trainer’s sentence. Ash detoured his look, sort of empty; observed by her. She asked softly: “Can I sit side to you?”

“Sure.”

I decided to jump and climb the roof on my side to watch from behind and up, the pair of friends’ talk, as some questions had surfaced on my large head. Once having chosen her spot, crossed her legs and pointed her eyes to the treetops of the horizon, she begun the chat with the followed question: “Is something on the matter? Where’s Pikachu? And Goh?”

“They fell asleep on the bedroom. I closed my eyes but… it wasn’t working. Goh was really tired from the day at the beach so I let him be on bed.”

“Poor Goh!”, Hope gave a short laugh, reminding about Mantine Surf. “I like how despite of being a city boy, he’s willing to get out of his comfort zone! It’s true we couldn’t convince him to catch some waves alone but… I confess, I wished I had recorded his screams! I think Chloe’s going to ask me about evidence once I tell her you’ve dragged him to Surf with you!”

Ash showed a subtle smile on his lips. “Goh’s braver than what many might think about him at first. My friends here at Alola, that were also at the Pokémon School with me a long time ago, met him yesterday in flesh for the first time. One them who’s from Akala Island challenged him for a Pokémon Battle, thinking Goh was my rival. I didn’t want to mess up with the combat as Kiawe’s very serious about this stuff but at a point he used an Inferno Overdrive on Goh and Raboot.”

My jaw dropped! Raboot didn’t tell me anything about that confront and how he and his Trainer were exposed to a Z-Move! Hope’s mouth had opened a little as well, but she quietly continued to listen to Ash.

“He wanted to show his worth to him so he didn’t move away. Neither Raboot. Kiawe’s Marowak took them away afterwards, otherwise they really would have been hit by the fire ball.”

“Whoa!... It’s the first time he witnessed a Z-Move, right?!”

“Yeah. But I think he was a little prepared because he asked me a few things about them the day after you told us a few months ago about how you met Litten and how you got your Z-Ring.”

“I… I’m impressed, really! You know, I’ve battled many Trainers in the region and… I guarantee you that most fled when I asked Litten to use either that, Breakneck Blitz or All-Out Pummeling. Trial Captains and Kahunas told me that few are the ones that take a Z-Move. Not that I doubted Goh’s courage but… it’s not something I expected from a Trainer who doesn’t battle that often.”

“You weren’t around to see but he’s improving a lot in that. Before, each time he saw a new Pokémon he wouldn’t think twice before throwing a Poké Ball! Now he battles to weaken them if they’re stronger and harder to catch! He and Raboot were amazing in that day they faced the Flygon he got. I couldn’t help him with Riolu that day!”

“I can’t wait to meet that Flygon, I’ve never seen a real one! Only in documentaries!”

Hope realized that Ash’s eyes expressed a warmth the more he talked about Goh’s achievements. She was also happy to learn about Goh’s evolution as a Pokémon Trainer as well. The girl looked to the spherical fabric object on Ash’s hands, and casually asked him:

“What you have on your hands… That’s a Destiny Knot, isn’t it?”

“Goh offered me this one morning some time after we begun to date.”

“That’s really an item from your culture… I’ve heard about it. Its original name is the Red String of Fate. And I know what’s for.”, she told him while giving a very honest smile. Ash revealed a very faint blush on his cheeks.

“I have it on my backpack since the day he gave me this. I like to look at it when he’s not around or when I’m worried.”, Ash admitted to his friend. And that’s what both Hope and I suspected.

“…You’re still thinking about Bea’s Grapploct, aren’t you?...”

The raven-haired boy frowned upon the mental reconstitution of the negative experience at Saffron City. Hope’s face became more serious as well. Ash’s silence was very conclusive. Hope leaned closer to Ash and placed a hand over his shoulder.

“Ash. You’re the strongest Trainer of Alola and by far the toughest I’ve challenged. If someone was telling me one year ago that I would become friends to the first winner of the Pokémon League of my birthland, I wouldn’t believe it. My grandma has always told me that things don’t happen by hazard. I strongly believe that Tapu Bulu wanted our paths to cross in that day at Vermilion City. Singing a hundred songs, or even handing over a Gracidea bouquet, would be enough to express my gratitude towards your support and help when I was unable to walk. You’ve already helped me out, Ash. Now it’s your turn to be helped. I mostly battle as a hobby to keep my Pokémon active and help them overcome their insecurities, but I still want to help you out in thinking on a plan to defeat Grapploct with Riolu, because I know you’ll stick to your choice. I talked about this to Goh during lunch and I was thinking in tomorrow spending a bit of the morning at Malie Library to see if there’s any book that talks about the Pokémon. I understand how you feel because it’s just like when I’ve faced Kahuna Nanu for the first time. It felt terrible and I wanted to hide inside a Grubbin’s hole. But there’s a sentence I’ve heard that encouraged me to stop thinking about the mistakes and start to think about a solution: _A’a i ka hula, waiho i ka maka’u i ka hale._ Dare to dance, leave shame at home. That’s when I begun to do a _haka_ before an important Pokémon Battle. It was by training this dance that a new strategy flashed on my mind. I’m obviously not asking you to dance or that dancing solves the issue but… _‘A’ohe pu’u ki’eki’e ke ho’a’o ‘ia e pi’i._ No cliff is so tall that it cannot be climbed. You climbed a really tall one in a Kalosian Gym, didn’t you tell me once?”

Ash’s eyes lifted for some long seconds, surprised by Hope’s piece of advice. Something I’ve always appreciated in this girl is how she normally has the right words to say when a close person, or Pokémon is feeling down. The Alolan Champion gave a smile that to our disappointment, wasn’t truly genuine. He placed the Destiny Knot over his legs, looked to his palms and vented: “But what does the cliff’s height matters when the walls are flat?”

Hope was caught off guard with the rhetorical question, letting out a small gasp. Ash picked up the red wool again while getting up, turning his back and telling Hope an unconvincing “Good night. I’m calling it a day.”, leaving the balcony. Wow… I thought Hope had controlled the situation but… he wasreally affected by the lost combat. I went near to my Trainer once Ash closed the door, and Hope was alone on her spot. She was as bothered as I was. The girl firmly held her ukulele, shut her vision and moved her fingers. The musical instruments’ strings echoed all over the neighborhood, expressing her frustration for her inability to help out Ash. I also thought that, if Ash’s state of spirit could be represented in a music play, it would be the exact same one. After a long minute of doing so, she vigorously stood up, reopened her eyes and spoke to me without retiring them from the horizon: “ _I’m not giving up._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> More things are about to happen in the next two days for Ash, Goh, Hope and all the participating Pokémon. Now what exactly? If I'm productive enough, the second part of this story should be ready by Spring! Thank you so much for your patience and bravery to read such long texts! Until there, take care and follow the recommendations of your national health authorities!


End file.
